The ailing middle order needs Cheteshwar Pujara's calming presence

Suresh Raina (L) and Cheteshwar Pujara

A lot has been talked about the Indian batting line up in foreign conditions and their inability to deal with the odd bouncers. The fact that India will be defending their world cup title in exactly similar conditions adds to their woes.

While the “Bradmanesque” form of India’s premier batsman Virat Kohli continues, the rest of them seems to have fizzled out. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are waiting to get a big one behind them to boost their confidence, while Ajinkya Rahane is hoping to cement his position in the side. But what worries me the most is the absence of a solid batsman of the stature of Rahul Dravid at No. 4.

In foreign conditions, someone with exemplary skill and solid technique can ride any team out of the storm, and with Cheteshwar Pujara, one can always rely on him to come good in testing conditions. Having performed at the highest level of Test match cricket consistently over the past year and with an ‘ICC emerging player of the year’ award to his credit, it’s time the selectors gave him the ODI cap once again.

Suresh Raina has always seemed out of sorts with the short ball and frankly has been given a long rope outside the sub-continent. Although a clean hitter of the ball, time is running out for Raina to prove his worth in foreign pitches.

Lets take a look at the statistics to further strengthen the case. With an average of over 54 in the List A games, the numbers also seem to go in favour of Pujara as well. Compare that to Suresh Raina (Avg:36.58, SR:92.94) and Rohit Sharma(Avg:36.7) – both of whom have botched way too many opportunities – we will have a clear winner.

While no one can question the ability of Rohit Sharma, his dismal record outside the sub-continent doesn’t support his case at all. The Indian middle order which has looked out of sorts for quite a while now needs some strengthening.

Ravindra Jadeja is seen more of a bowler who bats these days to be considered as a serious batting option in the middle. This has made Pujara’s case stronger, who at number 4, can form a formidable partnership with Kohli which can lend stability to the middle order; Kohli being the explosive partner and Pujara being the anchor at the other end.

Former India skipper Saurav Ganguly had also called for the inclusion of Pujara in the ODI’s considering his brilliant track record this year in the Test match arena. Interestingly, Pujara has a very good strike rate for someone who is termed as ‘slow’. It was evident looking at the brisk pace in which he scored his 153 at the lively Wanderers pitch, even surpassing the strike rate of Virat Kohli’s equally splendid knock.

It seems strange why someone with an average of above 54 in List A has failed to impress Sandeep Patil and Co. He may not be lighting quick for the T20s but since it’s the 50-over format that we are talking about, he will fit in well.

The pitches for the next year’s World Cup are not going to make life easy for the Indians. There will be pace, swing, and bounce on those decks. It’s a mystery that Pujara has been overlooked for a long while now. Time is ripe if the selectors are looking ahead for the World Cup defence, which is just about 12 months away.

If India wants to have a good enough chance of defending the coveted title, it’s high time they gave Pujara a shot at it. This year is filled with away tours to England and Australia, and the selectors have little time to test him out before the gala event Down Under begins next year.