South Africa v India 2023/24

Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara follows Ajinkya Rahane, posts batting video following India’s Centurion loss

by Wisden Staff December 30, 2023 - 6:56am 2 minute read

Watch: Discarded India batter Cheteshwar Pujara posted a video of himself batting in the nets today (December 30), a day after his long-time teammate Ajinkya Rahane did the same.

Both Rahane and Pujara are currently out of favour from the Indian Test side, having been dropped after prolonged periods of poor form.

Rahane posted a video of himself batting in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) nets yesterday (December 29) on X (Twitter), with Pujara following suit today (December 30), posting a similar video of himself practicing in the nets on Twitter (X).

The timing of these posts are interesting to note as they have come right after India’s heavy Test defeat in Centurion. Rahane, who was the vice-captain in the last Test series, has been replaced by Shreyas Iyer for the South Africa Tests, while Pujara had been dropped following the World Test Championship final with his place going to Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Pujara’s recent post includes the caption, “Ranji Trophy prep mode”. The first round of fixtures in the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy, India’s premier first-class tournament, are scheduled to begin from January 5. Saurashtra, Pujara’s side, are set to play Jharkhand at their home ground in Rajkot to start their campaign. Interestingly though, Pujara is seen practicing with a white ball in the recently posted video, and not a red one.

The last time Pujara posted a video of himself batting on social media was on November 26, 2023 before the start of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the premier List A tournament in the country.