Ranji Trophy: Cheteshwar Pujara scores 91 after being dropped from Test side

A day after chief selector Chetan Sharma said the door is not closed on him, and his performances in Ranji Trophy will be watched, Cheteshwar Pujara scored an 83-balls 91 with 16 fours and a six against Mumbai in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
On Saturday, senior batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from March 4 in Mohali. The second Test of the seores will be played in Bengaluru from Match 12.
However, 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.
Pujara, the right-handed batter has scored 602 runs at 24.08 in 14 Tests over the last one year. The emergence of the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill put the veteran batter 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,” selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma told reporters.

“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.