You may have to talk to the selectors: Kohli on the future of Pujara-Rahane

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Label: India Trip South Africa Trip 2021-22,
South Africa vs India, third Test in Cape Town from 11-15 January 2022,
India,
South Africa,
Virat Kohli

Posted on: January 15, 2022

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India Test captain Virat Kohli refused to say anything about the future of senior batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who were struggling in India’s 2-1 series loss to South Africa on Friday. When asked what would happen if the pair lost another series, Kohli said it would be up to the picker to answer the call.

Pujara and Rahane had 50 points apiece in three games, averaging in the early 20s. Their status has been a question mark for several seasons. Kohli was asked about the future of the pair in the post-match meeting following the India defeat. He replied: “I can’t sit here and talk about what’s going to happen in the future. It’s not for me to sit here and talk. You might have to talk to the selectors about what they think. It’s not my job.”

However, Kohli added that, while somewhat unbelievable, he would continue to support both players given what they have done for the team over the years. He commented: “As I said before, and I’ll say it again, we will continue to support Cheteshwar and Ajinkya because they’re the kind of players they’ve done over the years in the Indian Cricket Test, in the ‘second innings’. (in Johannesburg) as well. These are our recognized team performances. However, he said at the end of the statement: “What the selectors decide to do, I’m obviously not going to sit here and comment. “

The Indian captain also unabashedly blamed batting for disappointing his team. He admits frequent batting crashes are unacceptable. India surpassed 300 in the first innings of the series and went on to win in the Centurion, but suffered a batting collapse in the remaining two Tests. The 33-year-old admitted, “It’s definitely batting. I don’t think we can identify any other aspect of our game as a team. Yeah, obviously batting has to be studied. There’s no escaping that. It’s not good to crash every now and then, That’s something we need to analyze and correct to move forward.”

Aside from Indian bowling, Rishabh Pant’s Cape Town Hundreds is a big plus for India. Kohli praised the youngster saying: “I think it was a quality hit given the conditions and situation and the type of bowling that was shown, that’s the talent he has. Huge knock, I see One of the best hundreds of knocks I’ve ever had.”

– a cricket reporter



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