In what has been the latest development as per PTI reports, it has emerged that veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are no longer in the Test scheme. BCCI has already left them behind and their chances of returning to the Test team are insurmountable.

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were not named in the Indian squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. This led to quite a few speculations about his future, especially Rahane, who was part of the last Test series India played.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who were the backbone of the Indian Test team, were very much under the radar for their poor performances. After the ICC World Test Championship final, Pujara faced an ax but Rahane, who was called up for that particular match, kept his place after his vital contribution.

KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer to replace Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane failed to make an impact in the series against the West Indies and with the return of Shreyas Iyer, he was dropped from the team. A source close to the BCCI revealed that both the veterans will no longer be chosen as their positions are already filled. Speaking to PTI, he explained:

“The two positions that Rahane and Pujara had now belong to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Also, Gill will bat in the middle order and Yashashvi will get a long rope.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal made his debut against the West Indies earlier this year and made a strong statement with his performances. Shubman Gill, on the other hand, has been given the number 3 position and KL Rahul is now expected to keep the wickets and bat in the middle order.

Both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been incredible servants of the nation. While Rahane has 5077 runs at an average of 38.46, Pujara in 103 Tests scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.60.

Here is the Indian team for 2 Tests:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.