Should Rahul replace Pujara/Dhawan in the regular XI?

[sarcastic]

No matter how we all may disagree with who should be dropped, I think everyone here agrees that it will be criminal to drop KL Rahul for the next test when Vijay is fully fit. Rahul has not just taken his chance with both hands but has made such an impact in this test match that he simply can't be dropped.

Assuming that India want to go with 5 batsmen formula, I do not see a place for either Pujara or Dhawan in the test team. If Rahul can only be an opener, it should be Dhawan who should sit back (not sure if our team management will do that). Otherwise, he must be replacing Pujara who probably needs a break now to comeback to his full form. I know there are some people supporting Pujara, but he will clearly be a liability when playing against with a better team.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2016 by sarcastic
typos

[Adi_91]

I will replace Dhawan with Rahul as Dhawan has not really inspired confidence with his batting. And Pujara at No 3 for now. The least likely scenario though.

[Ankit_sharma03]

I was actually going to make a thread as i beilive now the choice shouldnt be between dhawan vs Rahul but it should be Dhawan vs Pujara

 

Lets see their perfomance

In Sa 

dhawan- 19

pujara -70

 

In NZ

dhawan- 53.75

pujara-15

 

In Eng-

Dhawan- 20.33

pujara- 22.30

 

In Aus

Dhawan- 27.83

Pujara- 33

 

In SL

Dhawan-81

Pujara- 145

 

In India

Dhawan-43

Pujara- 64

 

Home/Away

Dhawan- 

Home- 43

Away-41

 

Pujara

Home- 64

Away- 33

 

As of now i would play dhawan in next few games if i have to choose between two seeing their impact and form. But i dnt see Vijay playing next test also if he has a fracture and Rahul also had cramps today so he might prove to be unfit. Till now their fitness have adjusted each other spot time n again. But one thing Kl Rahul doesnt deserve to sit out anymore. Honestly i dont see Dhawan as along term solution.

 

As far as pujara goes i would still like him to be in mix as he has a lot of potential some good perfomances behind him. But he has to improve his game now. He goes in his shell, doesnt rotate strike n most importantly then gets out after doing all the hard work. He has thrown enough good starts over last 1-2 yrs now. You can play as many deliveries u want but if you dont score runs it doesnt matter. Ultimately its runs on board that matters. He should seriously look at steve smith game. 

 

Keeping a reality check it high time we add new players to the batting lineup as i dont have to much hope left with both and they have had enough chances as well. While Playing with 5 batsman we cant have so many liabilities. I would like To include Karun nair n Manish pandey to mix and check how good or bad they are. 

Edited August 1, 2016 by Ankit_sharma03

[Texan]

I had said earlier too just after the IPL that Rahul needs to be picked for all 3 formats going forward. 3 away hundreds in his first 7 Tests that too in conditions as varied as Aus, SL and WI definitely point to a potential long term player. He needs a little work on his early play as he seems to either get out in single digits or goes on to get three figures. I would say that for now he should replace Dhawan in the team. Dhawan is a bit of a flat track bully and can't put bat to ball when it swings a little. 

 

I'd like to see Pujara succeed bit at the moment, he is just pulling all the momentum down by stonewalling. When Dravid played his defensive knocks, he had the technique and the remarkable concentration to pull off big innings home or away. Pujara has so far struggled to play those big knocks away from home. At home, he is still a collosal run accumulator. 

[Bigg Brother]

We are acting like we have great bench strength and we are having"good headache" of who should be dropped..

If not for the generous selectors,Dhawan whould have been replaced by now..He plays good innings every 3-4 test matches.

[wtachetna]

According to what I feel, Dhawan is not in form and is going through major low confidence issues which can have strong impact on the team's performance. I will therefore replace Dhawan with Rahul.

[chewy]

Lol, no contest between Dhawan & Pujara, even an out of form Pujara is a better pick then a walking wicket of Dhawan in Tests.