IND vs ENG - Netizens believe Cheteshwar Pujara-Ajinkya Rahane better than underperforming Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer

As Team India looked to move forward and provide opportunities to younger players, seasoned Test veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane found themselves sidelined. After being excluded from the lineup for the two Test matches in South Africa, they were also overlooked for the five-match Test series at home against England.

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In their absence, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer were entrusted with batting responsibilities in their respective positions. However, the underperformance of these players has grabbed the attention of fans, prompting questions about whether they are suitable replacements for the experienced Indian veterans.

In the first Test, which India lost by 28 runs, Shubman Gill managed 23 runs and Shreyas Iyer contributed 35 runs in the first innings, playing just brief cameos. However, in the second innings, Gill was dismissed for a duck, while Iyer could only muster 13 runs.

Moving on to the 2nd Test at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, after India won the toss and opted to bat, Shubman Gill scored 34 runs, while Shreyas Iyer contributed 27 runs in the first innings.

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Subsequently, fans took to social media platforms, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter), to express their disappointment over the lack of intent shown by the top-order batters in converting their starts into substantial scores, especially in home games.

As of writing this article, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has amassed 146 runs in 76 overs. Unfortunately, his batting partner and debutant Rajat Patidar fell for 32 runs. It was a stroke of bad luck for Patidar on his debut as the ball unexpectedly bounced extra, catching him off guard as he attempted to defend. The ball struck his glove, then hit the pitch before rolling back to dislodge the stumps.

The Men in Blue have posted 259 runs and lost four wickets. Skipper Rohit Sharma got out for 14 runs.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.