Mohali, March 3: Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane’s service to Indian cricket isn’t easy to match but there comes a point when one needs to look forward and give the younger crop a fair run at the Test level, new captain Rohit Sharma said on Thursday.
Rahane, with 82 games, and Pujara, with 95 games, have been dropped from the Test squad for the Sri Lanka series and Rohit made it clear Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer need to be backed.
“Look these are big shoes to fill in. It’s never easy for the guys coming in. Even I don’t know who’s coming in place of Pujara and Rahane. So we have to wait till tomorrow morning to see who’s going to play,” Rohit answered to a question on the impact of the senior duo’s absence from the team.
“You can’t put it in words you know, years of hard work, playing 80, 90 Tests, respectively in all those overseas Tests, India getting to No.1, these guys helped us and played a massive part in that. So there’s no such thing that they are not being looked upon, and they will definitely be part of our plans.
“It’s just for now, we didn’t consider that. There is no guarantee that they will not be considered in future series,” he said. (PTI)
