Cheteshwar Pujara has always been considered as a batsman who has the potential of replacing one of the aging legs of the Indian Test squad. When Indian batting great Rahul Dravid was going through a lean patch in 2009-2010, this Saurashtra batsman was scoring tons of runs in the domestic circuit. There were even talks that India should take the hard decision of dropping Dravid to fit in Pujara in their ranks.

His performance in the domestic tournament earned him the Test cap and he was included to play against Australia. Pujara failed in the first innings but flourished in the second and scored a fluent 72. Pujara travelled with the team to South Africa and played two Test matches against the Proteas. He did not score many but he did manage to handle himself well against Dale Steyn & Co. till the time he occupied the crease. But soon after, he got injured and was out of action for quite sometime. In the meanwhile, Dravid became the highest run-getter in the year 2011 and put all thoughts about his retirement in the back draw.

But as Dravid has retired now and his place is up for grabs, it is once again Pujara who is looking as the strongest contender for the place. Pujara, who is captaining the Indian A team against the West Indies, is in good knick and has been the best batsmen on display for India so far.

However things won’t be as easy for him this time around as he is facing some stiff competition from some his India A team-mates. Let’s have a look at some of the other batsmen who are fighting for the same spot.

Rohit Sharma: He is a class player and it is hard to believe that he is still to make his Test debut. He is regarded very highly in the cricket world and Indian selectors will have to have very strong reasons not to include him in the Test squad in the near future. The only thing that goes against this talented Mumbai batsman is his casual attitude. He tends to lose focus in the middle of his innings and gets out to some bad shots. Sharma is also in the Indian A squad that is playing in West Indies and so far Pujara has outshone him as a batsman there.

Ajinkya Rahane: He is also a very experienced batsman in the domestic circuit and the kind influence that he had on IPL-5 was awesome. Rahane has a very good technique. He showed that he can negotiate pace and bounce in the short stint that he had in England. He looks a good player and might be very effective in that number three position as he has done so well in opening the innings.

By Indian Sports News Network