Gavaskar criticized the decision, stating that Pujara should not be made a “scapegoat” considering the collective batting failures of most Indian players. He emphasized that Pujara possesses the knowledge and skills required in red-ball cricket and can continue playing for several more years.
“Why has he been dropped? Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket. A loyal and quiet servant. A loyal and quiet achiever. But because he does not have millions of followers on platforms who will make a noise in case he gets dropped, you drop him.”
“That is something beyond understanding. What is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed? I do not know because nowadays, there is no media interaction with the selection committee chairman,” Gavaskar voiced his concerns in an interaction with Sports Today.
Gavaskar continued, “He has been playing county cricket. So, he has played a lot of red-ball cricket and he knows what it is about. Today, people can play till they are 39-40 years old, and as long as you are producing runs, I do not think age should be a factor. Apart from (Ajinkya) Rahane, the batting completely failed. Why Pujara has been made the fall guy is something the selectors will have to explain.”
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As the selectors announced the squads for the West Indies tour, Cheteshwar Pujara, the experienced Test player, found himself excluded due to his prolonged batting slump. The 16-member squad for the two-Test series starting on July 12 in Windsor Park, Dominica, includes promising young batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Both Jaiswal, 21, and Gaikwad, 26, performed exceptionally well in this year’s Indian Premier League, and they are seen as the future of Indian batting. Pujara’s disappointing scores of 14 and 27 in the recent World Test Championship final against Australia played a role in his omission.