 "Washington Sundar could make a comeback in the Indian side for third Test against Australia. Image: AP")
Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t see the Indian cricket team making multiple changes in the third Test against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane which starts on 14 December. Team India was thrashed by 10 wickets in the second Test at Adelaide Oval as Australia levelled the five-match series 1-1.
Rohit Sharma-led India had won the first Test at Perth by six wickets, however, the captain missed the opener due to the birth of his second child. His return to the side was tough as Rohit only scored 10 runs across two winnings. Virat Kohli, who scored a hundred at Perth, could only manage 18 runs in the match, but Pujara feels that India would not make any big changes.
Pujara backs Harshit Rana
The 36-year-old Pujara, who was part of Team India’s squads when they won in Australia in 2017-18 and 2020-21, feels Washington Sundar for Ravichandran Ashwin is the only change that India must make for the Brisbane Test match as they need some batting support.
The Saurashtra batter also backed pacer Harshit Rana, who returned bowling figures of 0/86 in Adelaide in just his second Test. On his debut in Perth, Rana took four wickets in two innings as India won by 295 runs.
“I feel only one change might happen. Since the batting wasn’t good, Washington Sundar can come in place of R Ashwin. Should someone come in place of Harshit Rana? In my opinion, no. You backed him and he performed well in the first match.” Pujara said on Star Sports.
“He is a good bowler. You cannot drop him just because one match went bad. Probably the only change for me would be Sundar for Ashwin if the team feels the batting lineup needs strengthening.”
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India’s WTC final scenarios
The Brisbane Test is going to be highly important for India in the context of qualification for the ICC World Test Championship 2025 final . Currently, India are third with a PCT of 57.29, behind South Africa (63.33) and Australia (60.71).
India cannot afford three losses from now. Two wins and one draw are scenarios that will help them finish second in the WTC points table and reach the final but a single defeat will almost end their hopes. This means India need to bounce back quickly, in Brisbane, to keep their WTC final hopes alive.