Is Pujara's international career over?

[Gollum]

Looks like Kohli has a personal problem with Pujara. At this rate Mithali Raj will have a better shot at gaining entry into our men's XI than ChePu. Kohli has surpassed even Dhoni as far as favoritism is concerned. Pujara averages higher than Kohli and can score daddy 100s. In SC his record is unmatchable and he still is by far our best batsman against spin. Even though he didn't set the world on fire in NZ, Eng,Aus he occupied the crease for long periods of time. When Kohli gave the worst performance by any batsman in history over 5 tests in England, Dhoni didn't sack him. But just because Pujara hasn't scored 100s in the last 9 odd tests he is suddenly inferior to Raina and Nohit. Feel gutted for Che here. He even went to play county and had good returns. Compared to IPL stars he has a much better technique and temperament but sadly it looks like he has been sidelined from the scheme of things(those not good in IPL will suffer the same fate the next few years unless they have political backing). He is the 1st casualty of Kohli's political games. Rahane, Ashwin and Vijay better look out for themselves, the Kohli-Shastri duo have set the ball rolling into our worst phase in test cricket. With these quota picks expect a couple of whitewashes from RSA and Eng over the next 12 months in our home turf.

I believe his career is over. What do you guys feel? What are your best memories of Che?

[Vijy]

Chepu is more of an HTB, and I see his SA tour as an aberration. Having said that, I still reckon he's more capable than most of the current batsmen on turning pitches. But, I don't think that either he or Nohit represent India's long-term answer to an all-pitch player (to some extent).

[sensible-indian]

Rohit will be back to his old self. Torturing us soon. Its just that this 50 saved him from getting dropped for a certain amount of test matches. But one day, it will catch up with him. Pujara should focus on his technique and form cos he will get back his spot soon.

[sensible-indian]

Chepu is more of an HTB' date=' and I see his SA tour as an aberration. Having said that, I still reckon he's more capable than most of the current batsmen on turning pitches. But, I don't think that either he or Nohit represent India's long-term answer to an all-pitch player (to some extent).[/quote'] HTB's don't play a crucial knock in Lord's green track. Pujara has technical and concentration issues these days but he ain't an HTB (if you go beyond stats).

[HippoSucks]

I do not believe in this favoritism speculations. Kohli just has faith in Rohit and if Rohit continues to fail then Pujara can easily get back in the side. In the mean time though Pujara needs to work on regaining his form. Even if he gets back in to the international side, with this form he can not be in the team for long.

[Gollum]

Chepu is more of an HTB' date=' and I see his SA tour as an aberration. Having said that, I still reckon he's more capable than most of the current batsmen on turning pitches. But, I don't think that either he or Nohit represent India's long-term answer to an all-pitch player (to some extent).[/quote'] Sorry bro he is slightly more than an HTB. Granted he isn't world class on those pitches(or rather hasn't been thus far) but he isn't all that bad. He scored some vital runs in Lord's and a couple of good knocks in Australia. His ability to occupy the crease for long periods of time is a big plus. I think that the IPL nasha and delusions of making our ODI squad in the CW 2015 messed up his mind badly. Concentration lapses were a recurring theme in those matches. In Indian pitches he is a monster and will be the key if we are to stop RSA and England in the coming 12 months.

[Vijy]

HTB's don't play a crucial knock in Lord's green track. Pujara has technical and concentration issues these days but he ain't an HTB (if you go beyond stats).

One crucial innings is clearly an aberration in 9 Tests where he failed. There is nothing wrong with being a HTB - likes of Azhar, etc were also that to some extent.

[Vijy]

Sorry bro he is slightly more than an HTB. Granted he isn't world class on those pitches(or rather hasn't been thus far) but he isn't all that bad. He scored some vital runs in Lord's and a couple of good knocks in Australia. His ability to occupy the crease for long periods of time is a big plus. I think that the IPL nasha and delusions of making our ODI squad in the CW 2015 messed up his mind badly. Concentration lapses were a recurring theme in those matches. In Indian pitches he is a monster and will be the key if we are to stop RSA and England in the coming 12 months.

Okay. I'll admit that he is "slightly" more than HTB, as you said. Certainly did well in SA of course. And yes, on Ind pitches he should definitely be selected.

[Bigg Brother]

Yes,after today's Rohit's knock,it is certainly over.

[Gollum]

Its not about 1 innings. He played well in SA series (both tests). He can play swing so he ain't an HTB in potential. But stats wise, he is one.

+1 I still feel he can make amends for his overseas stats if he is given adequate chances in the future. Most of our post 90s greats barring perhaps Sachin failed in 2/3 out of Aus,Eng,NZ,RSA tours in their first attempt. Many continued to do so even after many attempts. I feel we are being very harsh on Pujara. What Rahane, Vijay, Kohli did was an aberration.

[MechEng]

Stop calling Che Pujara an HTB. Many great batsmen are only HTBs, in fact even Nangakkara did well against England recently, after nearly 10 years of not getting enough runs in England. There are very few non HTB world class batsmen in the world. Tendlya, Ponting, Dravid and Lara are to name a few. Pujara has just begun his career, he will evolve with time.

[Anitha]

Pujara made the mistake of following Dravid in style and technique which doesn't work in this era. Kohli and Rahane followed Sachin and are so successful.

[Vijy]

+1 I still feel he can make amends for his overseas stats if he is given adequate chances in the future. Most of our post 90s greats barring perhaps Sachin failed in 2/3 out of Aus,Eng,NZ,RSA tours in their first attempt. Many continued to do so even after many attempts. I feel we are being very harsh on Pujara. What Rahane, Vijay, Kohli did was an aberration.

Could one also make the same argument for Nohit then :giggle: ? Or Dhawan (scored well in NZ) if I remember. I agree that stats aren't everything but dismissing them altogether is also equally ludicrous. I certainly believe that regardless of whether Chepu is a HTB or not, he merits selection ahead of Nohit. However, and this is a diff question altogether, I'm not sure if either of them are the best batsmen in India... there may be other youngsters I'm not aware of.

[HippoSucks]

Stop calling Che Pujara an HTB. Many great batsmen are only HTBs, in fact even Nangakkara did well against England recently, after nearly 10 years of not getting enough runs in England. There are very few non HTB world class batsmen in the world. Tendlya, Ponting, Dravid and Lara are to name a few. Pujara has just begun his career, he will evolve with time.

Few HTBs are considered as great batsman. Only if they have been extremely successful at home, like Sehwag or M Jayewardene. Sangakkara is not an HTB. He hasn't gotten a lot of opportunities overseas but still has done well there.

[HippoSucks]

+1 I still feel he can make amends for his overseas stats if he is given adequate chances in the future. Most of our post 90s greats barring perhaps Sachin failed in 2/3 out of Aus,Eng,NZ,RSA tours in their first attempt. Many continued to do so even after many attempts. I feel we are being very harsh on Pujara. What Rahane, Vijay, Kohli did was an aberration.

Sachin was around 18 to 19 years old on his first tours of New Zealand, England, Australia and South Africa... There are few batsman in the past who failed on their first few overseas tours and then came back strongly later.

[Vijy]

Few HTBs are considered as great batsman. Only if they have been extremely successful at home' date=' like Sehwag or M Jayewardene. Sangakkara is not an HTB. He hasn't gotten a lot of opportunities overseas but still has done well there.[/quote'] People are rather bitter about Sanga here - it makes sense he averages so much more than Sir Goddy. Agreed that Sanga's success came late, still has so-so avgs in Ind (and some other country), but calling him a HTB is stupid.

[Gollum]

Could one also make the same argument for Nohit then :giggle: ? Or Dhawan (scored well in NZ) if I remember. I agree that stats aren't everything but dismissing them altogether is also equally ludicrous. I certainly believe that regardless of whether Chepu is a HTB or not, he merits selection ahead of Nohit. However, and this is a diff question altogether, I'm not sure if either of them are the best batsmen in India... there may be other youngsters I'm not aware of.

Nohit has glaring technical issues and also doesn't have the right temperament for test cricket. Dhawan did well in NZ courtesy multiple lives. If NZ had held on to their catches he would have been a flop show there as well. Pujara has better defensive technique than either of these two and a better understanding of the virtues of spending time on the wicket. He may have failed in those 3 countries but you could see that he played out many deliveries. Often he would weather the storm, get set and have a brainfart thus costing his wicket. Concentration lapses more than technical deficiencies screwed him over although I admit he has an issue with the incoming deliveries(his knee injury? :((). At least there is hope for him to overcome this mess. Like Dravid in the 90s he sometimes gets stuck up in one end allowing the bowler to settle into rhythm and building pressure on himself. Spending time with Dravid will go a long way in overcoming the issue. What I mean to say is that he has the resources to redeem himself outside SC. Thankfully he won't get selected into any of those circus T20 teams in the future and can work on his game in Yorkshire CC, the breeding ground for many great test batsmen.

[cricketpitch]

The selection of Rohit is bit confusing to me. He was our worst batter in test in the last 2 years. His performances were even worse than Bhuvi and Ashwin but still continues to get chances. We are even making people move up and down the order to accommodate him. This is height of favoritism. Rahane has done brilliantly well at number 5 but we moved him to number 3 to make Rohit comfortable. It is really poor from the management. Pujara and Rohit have both struggled in the last 2 years, Rohit more than Pujara as Pujara at least had one good series. What has Rohit done to deserve so many chances? Except for 2 hundreds in Australia in ODI's? If any half decent batsman is given so many chances as we have given Rohit, he is bound to score you a 50 once in a while. That does not make him a great player. Pujara needs to be given the same rope as Rohit has been given. Both struggled over the last couple of years but one keeps getting chances and the other has no chances to make a comeback.

[Gollum]

Sachin was around 18 to 19 years old on his first tours of New Zealand' date= England, Australia and South Africa... There are few batsman in the past who failed on their first few overseas tours and then came back strongly later.

So young and still he did remarkable feats in those countries in his 1st tours there. Sometimes I feel he underachieved in his test career. A batsman of his talents should have averaged minimum 60-70 with many more great contributions in 4th innings chases. Lack of mental toughness, umpiring bias, tennis elbow and his thirst for individual milestones stopped him from attaining his full potential with the bat.

[Vijy]

Nohit has glaring technical issues and also doesn't have the right temperament for test cricket. Dhawan did well in NZ courtesy multiple lives. If NZ had held on to their catches he would have been a flop show there as well. Pujara has better defensive technique than either of these two and a better understanding of the virtues of spending time on the wicket. He may have failed in those 3 countries but you could see that he played out many deliveries. Often he would weather the storm' date=' get set and have a brainfart thus costing his wicket. Concentration lapses more than technical deficiencies screwed him over although I admit he has an issue with the incoming deliveries(his knee injury? :((). At least there is hope for him to overcome this mess. Like Dravid in the 90s he sometimes gets stuck up in one end allowing the bowler to settle into rhythm and building pressure on himself. Spending time with Dravid will go a long way in overcoming the issue. What I mean to say is that he has the resources to redeem himself outside SC. Thankfully he won't get selected into any of those circus T20 teams in the future and can work on his game in Yorkshire CC, the breeding ground for many great test batsmen.[/quote'] His performance in CC was heartening, but he has always done well in domestic matches. I hope that he has abandoned his previous desperation to play T20, to become an ODI "all-rounder", etc. Should resign himself to becoming a Test specialist and work on that. One possible route for him to explore (if he is sufficiently desperate) is to play FC as an opener. Neither Dhawan nor Rahul are unshakeable, and even Vijay may lapse into T20-mode in the future. I agree with OP that there is a bias against selecting him, and it may very well mean that he will only get sporadic chances in the future.