On Saturday, India and England faced off on day two of the fourth Test of their five-match series at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi.
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England chose to bat first, and finished day one at 302/7, after Joe Root and Ben Foakes had rescued them from a precarious situation of 112/5. In the morning session on day two, Ollie Robinson scored his maiden Test half-century as he shared in a 102-run eighth wicket stand with Root. England were eventually bowled out for 353.
India's innings got off to a poor start, as captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the third over. England spinner Shoaib Bashir then ran through the middle-order, taking 4/83 to reduce the hosts to 219/7 at the end of the day's play.
Should India have recalled Cheteshwar Pujara for England series?
Bashir's second wicket of the innings was that of India's number four, Rajat Patidar who was trapped LBW by a ball that kept low and skidded on. The Madhya Pradesh batter's scores in Test cricket now read 32, 9, 5, 0 and 17, a run that does not inspire confidence.
Patidar was drafted into the India side for the second Test in this series after KL Rahul was ruled out through injury in Visakhapatnam. His dismissals so far have been a tad unlucky at times, but with Indian players having availability issues, might there have been a better option?
India did not select senior batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for this series, looking towards the future instead. However, with Virat Kohli being a notable absentee for the series, some (including former England pacer Stuart Broad) felt the hosts could have selected one of them.
With the experience & world class talent of Kohli missing, would there have been temptation to bring back Pujara into this India batting line up? Or is his international career over? Feels like he could have brought some consistency and an anchor ⚓️
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) February 24, 2024
Both players have been in action in the Ranji Trophy, with differing outcomes. Rahane has returned a meagre 115 runs in 9 innings, but Pujara has been in sublime touch for Saurashtra. He is currently fourth on the run-scoring charts, with 781 runs in 11 innings, including a knock of 243* against Jharkhand in Rajkot.
By every measure, Pujara has been a superb player in Indian colours. While there may have been the risk of phasing him out slightly early, his non-selection for the ongoing series was not a hugely controversial issue. However, with the benefit of hindsight it may have been a good decision to select him once Kohli was ruled out.
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