'The team management will run out of patience' - Former India player comments on Pujara and Rahane's poor form

Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes the team management might run out of patience seeing Rahane and Pujara's constant poor show with the bat.

File photo - Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane during the Lords Test match. (Image: Twitter)
By Shurti Banerjee | Jan 4, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Although Team India have been winning Tests, their middle-order woes remain the same. Both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have once again failed to step up in the ongoing second Test against South Africa. And, former India opener Aakash Chopra believes the team management might run out of patience if they don’t contribute in the second innings of the Test as well.

Notably, Pujara managed a mere three runs, whereas Rahane got out for a golden duck. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra opined on the uncertain future of Rahane and Pujara.

He said: “Pujara and Rahane – same story once again. I think both of them are on thin ice. Both are dear to all of us, we have a lot of respect for these two players, but there is one more innings – the next innings of this match. If they score runs, they will be able to save their places else the next Test match, the team management will run out of patience.”

Read | Proteas in control of Johannesburg Test after gripping day 1

The veteran commentator also said that middle-order batsmen Hanuma Vihari will soon cement his place. And Shreyas Iyer too deserves chances as he has already impressed on his debut. Meanwhile, Vihari looked comfortable in the middle while scoring 20. On the other hand, Iyer has supposedly been ruled out of the ongoing Test due to a stomach bug.

Chopra revealed: “There is a possibility that one out of the two can definitely go out because Shreyas Iyer is sitting out after scoring a century. I will not touch Hanuma Vihari at all because if you keep dropping after one-one match, everyone will say you give them so many chances and leave me out after one chance.”

Aakash Chopra, however, also opened up on the technical deficiencies of Rahane and Pujara. He even explained the way the duo got out on Day 1 of the ongoing Test. Both Pujara and Rahane looked uncomfortable in the middle. Their footwork was not good and the hosts managed to remove them easily as well.

“The biggest problem is that they are playing short balls on the front foot” – Aakash Chopra

He explained: “The biggest problem is that they are playing short balls on the front foot. If you see the lengths of those deliveries, it is telling that you should play them off the back foot, use the bounce, go deep in the crease and play shots off the back foot.”

“Rahane was too far forward and Pujara was stuck in the middle, no one went back. Pujara’s hands are very low, so the ball hits the shoulder or the inside edge of the bat due to extra bounce. Rahane made a front foot press, the ball was quite far and he just poked at it. The height at which the ball was, there was no way he could have scored. So it is a problem,” Aakash Chopra concluded.

It will be interesting to know how they perform in the second innings.





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