Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has said that it would not be a surprise if Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are left out of the second Test against New Zealand starting at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from Friday.
Rahane, Pujara
Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison said it should come as no surprise that Ajinkya Rahane will miss Cheteshwar Pujara in the second Test against New Zealand starting at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from Friday. Both of them are failing in Test cricket. Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, got the chance to make his Test debut in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli and took advantage of the opportunity to score a century in the Kanpur Test. Harmison said the Indian team management was likely to take a tough decision now that Kohli is back in the XI for the second Test.
Harmison, in response to a fan question on his YouTube channel, said it was a “difficult choice”. He, however, said he would exclude both Rahane and Pujara for the Mumbai Test. “This is a very tough question, but in my humble opinion I will leave them both (Rahane, Pujara). They have had amazing careers. India have good players. But I am not surprised that they both left the Indian team, ”said Harmison. Former right-arm seamer who has played 63 Tests, 58 ODIs and two T20Is.
Rahane captained India in the first Test in Kohli’s absence. He scored 35 in the first inning and 4 in the second inning. Rahane has averaged just 24.39 in the 16 Tests he has played in the last two years. Scored a century against Australia in Melbourne. Two half-centuries after that. Pujara, on the other hand, has not scored a single century in his last 16 Tests. He averaged just 27.65, which is well below his career average of 45.11. Harmison said Suryakumar Yadav, who replaced the injured KL Rahul in the Test squad, could make his debut in the match.
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