Cheteshwar Pujara “Could’ve Been Given Better Exit”: Ex-India Star Lashes Out At Selectors | Cricket News

Former India women’s team head coach WV Raman feels Cheteshwar Pujara deserves better treatment after the veteran batter was dropped from the side for the upcoming Test series against West Indies. Despite piling up runs in the County Championship for Sussex, Pujara failed to live up to the hype during the World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia. He failed to make it big in the all-important clash and could only conjure scores of 14 and 27. As a result, he was dropped from the team for the two-match Test series against the Windies.

However, his omission from team hasn’t gone down well with several current and former cricketers, including Raman.

The 58-year-old lashed out at the selection committee for dropping Pujara from the squad, pointing out the 35-year-old’s contributions over the years.

“The problem is that they have picked four possible openers, and they have dropped Pujara, which is another bone of contention. A cricketer like Pujara has done a lot for Indian cricket, and he has been instrumental for India winning both at home and abroad on quite a few occasions,” Raman said on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel.

Raman said if the selectors feel that Pujara’s time with the Indian team is over, they could’ve given him a proper farewell.

“He is a gritty customer. He was even elevated to vice-captaincy quite recently but a failure in the WTC final, he finds that he is left out in the cold. I think this is one decision that has not gone down well with many people, and I, personally, as well, I am not for it. He deserves to be treated properly. If they think it’s the end of Pujara, he could’ve been given a better exit,” he further stated.

So far, Pujara has featured in 103 Test matches for India and scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.61.