"We still don't have a better batter than Cheteshwar Pujara in Test cricket"- Harbhajan Singh after India's hammering defeat at the hands of SA
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes India made a huge mistake by dropping veteran batters like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara from their Test plans. The Indian batting couldn't stand tall in either inning as they lost the Centurion Test by an innings and 32 runs against the Proteas.
Harbhajan felt that the visitors moved on from Pujara for no valid reason and also claimed that they do not have a better red-ball batter than the latter at the moment.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Harbhajan Singh had to say about Cheteshwar Pujara:
"Didn't select Ajinkya Rahane and have left Cheteshwar Pujara out for no reason. These are the two players who have scored runs everywhere. If you look at the previous record Pujara has the same contribution as Kohli had. I don't understand why Pujara has been left out, we still don't have a better batter than Pujara in Test cricket. He plays slowly but he saves you, because of him India won Test in Australia and England."
India's first innings decided the match: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh also reckoned that the visitors were always playing catch-up once they could only muster 245 in their first innings. He lauded the efforts of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli with the bat but feels that overall the visitors just didn't turn up.
On this, he stated:
"In three days India for a single moment never looked in the game. They scored 245 runs after losing the toss in the first innings and it was all thanks to KL Rahul. He played a fantastic knock which propelled India's score to 245. In the second innings, India could only score 131 and if you remove Virat Kohli's contribution then it would have been more difficult. The match was decided on India's performance in the first innings."
India will need to find some inspiration after such a hammering to compete and make a comeback in the second Test to be played in Cape Town on January 3.