If Virat Kohli and KL Rahul rejoin, Pragyan Ojha believes Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar may need to step aside. This is for the third Test against England.
Kohli chose to sit out the initial two Tests against England for individual matters. Rahul, contributing 86 runs to India’s opening play of the first Test, was absent in the second meet in Visakhapatnam. A right quadricep discomfort being the reason.
In a Colors Cineplex chat, Ojha faced a query about the strain on Shreyas due to Shubman Gill’s second-inning century. He reply:
“Shreyas Iyer was left slightly behind. When you talk about great batters like Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul has also scored runs, when they return, they will automatically be part of the XI. So probably Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar will have to make way because the situation is like that.”
“It’s not that you don’t want to give opportunities but when great batters are coming and you don’t have that much room, you cannot give them the cushion. So go back and score runs in domestic cricket.”
Pragyan Ojha
Shreyas scored 56 runs in two innings during the Visakhapatnam Test and was bowled out in the second innings while hitting a huge shot. Rajat Patidar scored 41 runs on two knocks in his maiden Test, but was outscored by Rehan Ahmed in both innings.
“I will repeatedly talk about the way he handled pressure” – Pragyan Ojha lauds Shubman Gill
On the other hand, Pragyan Ojha lauded Shubman Gill for performing under pressure. He elaborated:
“Fantastic batting by Shubman Gill. He grasped his chance. I will repeatedly talk about the way he handled pressure. Everyone knows that he has a lot of talent. When you play for your country, you have something special.”
Pragyan Ojha
The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that the Punjab batter’s ability to recover from a poor run will serve him well.
“However, if you are repeatedly questioned in different ways and things are not going in your favor, your mentality takes you forward. That was a standout thing seen in him. I feel this will change his character because he will now know what needs to be done when he gets into a similar situation.”
Pragyan Ojha
In India’s second innings, Shubman Gill made 104 runs from 147 balls. This was his first time achieving over fifty runs in his previous 13 Test innings.