Pujara and Rahane: Contrasting tales of two Test specialists

Cheteshwar Pujara's inclusion in the Test squad for the Edgbaston game against England in July was a mere formality following his short but enormously successful county stint with Sussex. But the irony was not lost on anyone.

A round of applause broken out in the auction hall when Pujara was snapped up by Chennai Super Kings at the 2021 auction at his base price of Rs 50 lakh. Pujara being picked was an event in itself, though he did not get a single match during CSK's triumphant march to a fourth title. Cut to the latest player auction, and the Saurashtra batter received a royal snub with not a single taker for the right-hander even in the expanded league. However, Ajinkya Rahane, who had also been excluded from India's Test squad along with Pujara for the home series against Sri Lanka following a prolonged lean patch, was bought at his base price by Kolkata Knight Riders.

As the league stage of the T20 event concluded on Sunday, it was apparent who had benefited from the twin developments more than three months ago. While the IPL snub turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Pujara, being part of the bandwagon has done little to rejuvenate Rahane's fortunes. Where Rahane had a forgettable run with KKR, Pujara made most of the "free" time with a highly productive stint in the English county season.

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The right-hander came up with scores of 6, 201 n.o., 109, 12, 203, 16, 170 n.o. and 3 in the Division Two championship. His 720 runs in five matches at a staggering average of 120 were just too overwhelming for the national selectors to ignore, and the 34-year-old was expectedly back in the red-ball squad for the rescheduled series-decider from July 1.

At 33 and 34 respectively, Rahane and Pujara are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. With both their stuttering white-ball international prospects past their sell-by dates, it would seem both sensible and logical for them to prioritise Test cricket. Just to buttress the point, Pujara's last ODI was in 2014 against Bangladesh in Dhaka, as was his last IPL match, for Kings XI Punjab against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. While Pujara has not played a T20 International, Rahane has not been needed since 2016, when he turned out against West Indies in Lauderhill, USA. The Mumbaikar's last ODI was in 2018 against South Africa in Centurion.

Agreed, the lure of the IPL is irresistible. It is not just about the money, but also the urge to be a part of one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas, with the game's most celebrated superstars in attendance. There is, therefore, a compelling desire to be accepted. But Pujara, unwittingly, may have just paved the way for fresh thinking. There have been examples of foreign stars pulling out of IPL either because of pressure at home for perceivably putting club above country or to focus on marquee red-ball series. It is about time Indian players, who have little to gain from IPL in terms of reviving their international careers, made the same choice.

Of course, the steady stream of young batters vying to get into the Test squad will either keep the veterans on their toes, which is always welcome, or stonewall their comeback. But then again, Pujara's Phoenix-like rise from the ashes shows that nothing is over until it actually is.