Why has Pujara been made the scapegoat for our batting failures: Gavaskar

Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from the Indian Test squad for the tour of West Indies as the side prepare for a transition with the commencement of the new World Test Championship cycle. That made a little sense, given the fact that Pujara was India’s highest run-scorer in the previous cycle of WTC while the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli massively underperformed throughout. 

Sunil Gavaskar didn’t really like the idea and stated that Pujara was made a scapegoat for the failure of the batting unit as a whole.

"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. 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 told Sports Today.

"He has been playing county cricket. So, he has played a lot of red-call 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," he added.

While Indian selectors picked Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Test side, Sarfaraz Khan, the tallest run-scorer in Indian domestic cricket in the last three years, couldn’t make it to the squad. As a matter of fact, Sarfaraz amassed 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 in the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy after racking up 982 runs at an average of 122.75 in the 2021–22 Ranji season. Gavaskar found that baffling.

"Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team," Gavaskar said.

"Tell him that his performances are being recognised. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it's of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red-ball game as well."