Team India skipper Rohit Sharma finally broke his silence about Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's ouster from the Test squad. The veteran duo had come under fire after their subdued performances on the South Africa tour.
Ahead of Team India's first Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Rohit faced the press and talked about plenty of issues, including the Pujara-Rahane saga.
Despite being two of the senior-most players, Rahane and Pujara were dropped from the Test squad but Rohit insisted that the door is still open for them.
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The Indian skipper stated how the pair of Pujara and Rahane had been crucial in India's rise to the top of Test rankings, however, the management had decided to look past them only for the moment.
"Never easy to fill in big shoes of Rahane and Pujara. You can't put it in words what they have done for team," said Rohit in the pre-match press conference ahead of India's first Test of the series.
He continued, "Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane played big part in India becoming No.1 in Tests. It's just for now, we didn't consider them."
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While Rohit might have hinted that there's still a chance for the senior batters to force their way back into the squad, they have already started to find ways to claw their way back.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored 91 runs off 83 balls in the ongoing Ranji Trophy edition, against Mumbai just a day after Chetan Sharma, BCCI chief selector announced India's squad for Sri Lanka Test series, thereby confirming his exclusion.
Ajinkya Rahane meanwhile scored a ton against Saurashtra in the same match.
With Inputs from PTI
