NEW DELHI: The national selection panel on Friday effectively brought curtains down on veteran Cheteshwar Pujara's international career by dropping him from the Indian Test squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies, starting July 12.
The inclusion of powerhouse domestic performers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 16-member squad is a clear indication that the four-member panel, headed by Shiv Sunder Das, is now looking at the next two-year World Test Championship cycle (2023-2025).
That Pujara will be dropped and skipper Rohit Sharma is likely to lead the Test side in the Caribbean was reported by the PTI recently.
The other significant development was Ajinkya Rahane's re-appointment as the vice-captain of the Test side just after making an international comeback in the previous game.
While Mohammed Shami has been given complete rest from both Tests and ODIs after nearly three months of hectic competitive cricket, the selectors have indeed started the phasing out process by dropping the Umesh Yadav and bringing in the consistent Kolkata seamer Mukesh Kumar in the main squad.
Navdeep Saini, whose career had been in free-fall since the historic tour of Australia, also gets a chance for resurrection as his hit-the-deck (140 clicks) bowling might be effective on the slow Caribbean tracks.
All three new entrants, Jaiswal, Gaikwad and Mukesh were the stand-by players for the WTC final. They have been very consistent in domestic cricket over the past few seasons.
The ODI squad didn't have any major surprises with 17 members literally picking themselves.
The injured Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, whenever fit, also select themselves and together these 20 players will most likely make the core group going into the big World Cup.
Pujara is unlikely to make a comeback anytime soon
When Pujara was dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka along with Rahana, the former chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma had said that doors were not closed for the gritty No. 3 and he could go get back to first-class cricket and earn his stripes.
Pujara went back to County Cricket and played for Sussex.
He scored tons of runs and was recalled for the one-off Test against England in 2022 and also got a chance to complete 100 Tests milestone in the series against Australia this year.
"Once he failed in Australia series at home, there was very little chance for him but selectors didn't want to change things ahead of the WTC final," a BCCI source in the know of things told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"Twin failures at Oval sealed his fate. SS Das was in London for the WTC final. He must have had a word with head coach Rahul Dravid and intimated his panel's thought-process post final," the source added.
If Pujara's knocks of 90 and 102 against Bangladesh are taken away, he has scored at a poor average of 26 in the last three years and perhaps got a very long rope for non-performance.
"It is a two-year cycle and you can't just make wholesale changes. Pujara hasn't been scoring for three years. The difference between a Virat Kohli and a Pujara has been the rhythm. Yes, Kohli also has had a dry spell but he never looked out of form. Pujara never gave you confidence after the Australia tour that he is in rhythm. Intent was also an issue. The two knocks against Bangladesh were hardly of any consequence," the source said.
Jaiswal and Gaikwad can both open as well as bat at No. 3
After he scored 213 and 144 in the Irani Cup for the Rest of India against MP, the stylish Mumbai left-hander Jaiswal was expected to earn his maiden Test call-up.
With a first-class average of 80.21, Jaiswal has shown that he is a special talent and needed to be fast-tracked.
In pre-IPL days, the selectors would always be wary about the temperament of domestic performers at the highest level but one good thing about IPL is a chance to test one's skills against the best in the world.
Both Jaiswal and Gaikwad, who plays Maharashtra, can open and bat at number three.
If they forge a good combination at the top in future, there is every chance that Shubman Gill can bat at the coveted No.4 position as and when Virat Kohli decides to move on.
A former selector said, "I am not saying Das' panel would think like this but Ruturaj with his ability to play fast bowling, despite his 40-plus average in Ranji Trophy, stands a better chance to be successful."
"Hence Sarfaraz Khan getting completely exposed against quick bowlers in IPL or Abhimanyu Easwaran not scoring for Bengal in seven consecutive Ranji knock-out games (three quarter-finals, two semi-finals and two finals) also is taken into account. It is not just about how many runs you score but also how you score them that matters," he added.
India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini.
India's ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.