Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels that head coach Rahul Dravid will have to make a harsh decision if the team is to maintain the winning momentum. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer has pointed fingers at both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, as the duo struggle for form and are likely to be dropped from the team if their performances don't improve.
“At No. 3 in inarguably the world’s best cricket team, to find a spot there for three years and not score a hundred - he (Pujara) will know he’s got a long, long rope. To a large extent they are playing because of the potential they have, and the performances they have shown, and obviously, they are senior statesmen [in the team] as well. But the long rope they have been given is slowly burning out and you are coming to the end of it. I am very, very sure that they are both aware of it. Also, we have got to see the potential of the players at the back, they have done as well. Now if Virat Kohli returns, you get a feeling that one of the two has to give way,” the wicketkeeper batter said to Cricbuzz.
“When Rahul Dravid was at the fag end of his career, it was actually Pujara who came in and did well at that No. 3 spot, put pressure on him to eventually take his spot… Obviously, that circle comes around. I do think Rahul Dravid will have to make a couple of harsh decisions and if that means dropping one or both of them, he’ll be open to it because he knows that they have been given a long rope before… You don’t want to set the ground ablaze by making the big decisions right at the outset so I think he’s waiting and trying to assess what he can contribute to their careers and if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be,” Karthik averred.
Pujara was dismissed for just three while the right-handed Rahane went for a golden duck on Day 1 of the Johannesburg Test. Pujara hasn't scored a hundred in his last 45 Test innings while Rahane went blank in terms of tons in 2021. The poor performances also saw the Mumbai batter get stripped from the vice-captaincy of the Test squad before South Africa tour.
The duo will have a second and perhaps last opportunity to impress the team management in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test. India lead the three-match Test series 1-0 and will be hoping to register their first Test series win in the Rainbow nation. In absence of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul has taken charge of the team. Rahul was named vice-captain of the Test team after Rohit Sharma missed out on the tour due to injury.
