When was the last time India played a Test without both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane?
India will take on Sri Lanka in the first of the two-Test series starting on Friday without two of their middle-order stalwarts - Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. This is the first time that both will be missing from an Indian Test XI in over 10 years.
The last time India played without the duo was on their tour of Australia in 2011-12. In the fourth and final Test of the series in Adelaide, Rahul Dravid came at No.3 and VVS Laxman occupied Rahane's usual position of No.5. While Rahane sat on the bench, Pujara wasn't even in the squad for the tour.
Virat Kohli played only six Tests then and had no international hundreds. Now he's all set for his 100th Test with an eye on his 71st ton. While Dravid is now Team India's head coach, Laxman is at the helm of the National Cricket Academy and India's 'A' and Under-19 systems. Shubman Gill, who is considered one of the replacements for the duo, was just 12 years old back then.
Interestingly, the Adelaide Test was also the last time that Dravid and Laxman featured together. Both were in their late 30s and had served Indian cricket for almost 16 years. Dravid retired after the team returned home, with Laxman following him a few months later.
One iconic pair made way for another as Pujara came to be seen as Dravid's natural successor and Rahane settled himself at No.5. Both went on to play close to 200 Tests between them, scoring almost 13000 Test runs, including 30 tons.
Ahead of this match, Virat Kohli said that the match which changed his career was that of his maiden Test 100 - v AUS at Adelaide, 2012.
Curiously it was the last time before today's match with both Rahane and Pujara not part of Indian XI.
From Kohli's maiden 100 to 100th Test.
Now, a sharp dip in form and consistency over almost two years has left the selectors no choice but to move on again and make way for the likes of Gill, Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer to take over.
"You can't put it out in words" - Rohit Sharma on Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's contributions
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Skipper Rohit Sharma, while speaking to the press ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka, also admitted that it won't be easy for the new guys to fill Pujara and Rahane's shoes.
He also acknowledged their contributions to the team's success, saying:
"Look, those guys are big shoes to fill in, it's never easy for the guys who will come in... What Pujara and Rahane have done for this team, you can't put it out in words. There's years of hard work and playing 80-90 odd Tests respectively; all those overseas Test wins. India getting to No.1 in Test format, these guys helped us in that situation and have played a big part in that."
The first Test will kick off at 9:30 am IST at Mohali's PCA IS Bindra Stadium.