India vs England: Brad Hogg feels Prithvi Shaw can be Cheteshwar Pujara's replacement if needed in Test series

Sydney: Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg feels young Prithvi Shaw is more suited for the number three spot in Test cricket and is the top candidate to step in place of Cheteshwar Pujara if India think of replacing the veteran India batsman in the series against England. Asked by a fan if wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul should come in for Pujara in the five-Test series against England, the 50-year-old left-arm spinner said Shaw, who opens the innings, would be a better pick. “If anyone was going to replace Pujara it would be Prithvi Shaw. Feel he is more suited there than opening. Has a lot of talent and long future. He is not in the tour group but a wild card choice. #EngvIND,” Hogg tweeted.

If anyone was going to replace Pujara it would be Prithvi Shaw. Feel he is more suited there than opening. Has a lot of talent and long future. He is not in the tour group but a wild card choice. #EngvIND https://t.co/8wEF82aq1A

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) July 2, 2021

Shaw, who has represented India in five Tests and three ODIs, is part of the national squad in Colombo selected for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, starting 13 July. After the eight-wicket loss to New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final last month, India skipper Virat Kohli had hinted at an overhaul in the Test team. Without taking any names Kohli had expressed his displeasure at some players for not showing enough “intent” to score runs. Notably, Pujara, who played crucial knocks in the Australia tour and scored a fifty in the first Test against England in Chennai, has looked off-color in the last four Tests. The 33-year-old, who last scored a hundred in January 2019, managed 8 off 54 balls and 15 runs off 80 balls in the WTC final. India take on England in a five-match Test series, starting 4 August.