Rohit’s Test coronation accompanied culling of the old guard

A new era in Indian cricket has begun in earnest, with Rohit Sharma now captain in all three formats. Rohit had already taken over the white-ball reins. On Saturday, the selection committee made him the Test skipper for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka.
The decision to drop Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane came along expected lines, after a string of failures from the two senior batsmen. And although chief selector Chetan Sharma spoke about the door being still open for the duo, subject to their performances in the Ranji Trophy, both face an uphill task to stage an India comeback.
The selectors have also decided to move on from Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha, who are 33 and 37 years of age and are not even playing the Ranji Trophy.
After Virat Kohli relinquished Test captaincy following India’s 2-1 series defeat in South Africa, the only issue in the way of Rohit’s promotion was his dodgy fitness record. At 34 years of age, the opener has been struggling with injuries, a hamstring issue that ruled him out of the South Africa tour being the latest setback. KL Rahul led the team in the second Test in South Africa, as an upper back spasm had rendered Kohli unfit for the match. India lost the game and Rahul’s captaincy didn’t inspire confidence. Rohit has become Test captain almost default, though his experience and batting exploits are factors in his favour.
“Rohit Sharma is the No. 1 player of our team and plays all three formats. Now he has no injury. We were absolutely clear. When a big player like him becomes available (for captaincy), selectors would be happy,” selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma told reporters, while making it clear that this was a permanent appointment and not a stop-gap series-to-series arrangement.
“No, we aren’t looking series series. This is not a time-bound appointment. We would be happy if he (Rohit) can carry on for long.”
The process of grooming a captain for the future will start under Rohit and the selectors have shortled Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah for the job. With Rahul missing the Sri Lanka series due a hamstring injury, Bumrah has been named as Rohit’s deputy. Indian cricket has seldom entrusted a fast bowler with leadership responsibility, Kapil Dev being an exception. Of late, however, there’s a change in thought process globally, with Pat Cummins taking charge of the Australian Test team and Bumrah being promoted to the Indian team’s vice-captaincy.
“If such an experienced cricketer (Rohit) becomes Test captain, then the selection committee gets an opportunity to grow a captain for the future,” the chief selector said.

End of the road?
Coming to Pujara and Rahane, the former has scored 602 runs at 24.08 in 14 Tests over the last one year, while Rahane has made 460 runs at 20.00 in 13 Tests during that period. The emergence of the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill put the veteran pair under added pressure and the cull was expected. It is learnt that the selectors and team management are looking at Gill as the team’s new No. 3.
Sharma chose to be diplomatic, while speaking about Pujara and Rahane, stressing that they weren’t picked for the two Tests against Sri Lanka but might get an opportunity in the future. “We thought long and hard before arriving at the decision. We have spoken to them that we will not consider them for the two Tests against Sri Lanka, and we have told them to go and play the Ranji Trophy. This is cricket (and) performance matters. Doors are totally open for them. It’s just for these two Tests.”
On Friday, Rahane scored a century for Mumbai against Saurashtra, but Pujara was out for a duck. The two have a combined Test experience of 177 matches, but rarely has Indian cricket seen players in their mid-thirties coming back to the Test fold after being dropped. Mohinder Amarnath and Sourav Ganguly were two prominent exceptions, but a lack of quality replacements contributed to their comebacks.
From that perspective, a lot will depend on how the Gills, Iyers and Hanuma Viharis perform against Sri Lanka and subsequently. “They (Pujara and Rahane) have served the country for so long. They can come back, why not? It’s like a graph, it goes up and down. Rahane hit a hundred yesterday. This is a process of managing (poor form)” said Sharma.
The fact of the matter is that the Test future of Pujara and Rahane is no longer in their hands. For them to return to the fold, their replacements will have to fail.

Ishant and Saha have opted out of their respective Ranji Trophy sides, Delhi and Bengal, and the ouster feels like curtains for them.
At the press conference, the chief selector was asked about Hardik Pandya, who has reportedly snubbed first-class cricket to focus on the shorter formats. “We are looking at people who are playing the Ranji Trophy. That gives us happiness,” Sharma’s initial reaction had a touch of sarcasm.
On being told that Pandya would certainly be fit for the Indian Premier League, he snapped back: “If you have his number, speak to him. You aren’t part of the selection committee, so you can’t decide. Support him, don’t raise issues. The kid has done so much for the country.”