Former South African captain Shaun Pollock urged the Indian management to identify at least two core Test batters in the mould of Cheteshwar Pujara to resurrect their performances in the longest format. Team India continued their downward slide in Test cricket with a shocking 0-2 home series defeat against South Africa. After losing a close opening Test, the Asian side suffered their worst-ever Test defeat runs-wise by 408 runs in the recently concluded second Test in Guwahati. It was India’s third Test series defeat in their last five, including two whitewashes at home. Talking about India’s future in the red-ball format after the South African debacle, Pollock told Cricbuzz (14: 31): “It’s a trend in world cricket that Test match batting is not that easy. Because now people don’t play much four-day or first-class cricket, the art of batting in Tests is lost. So my only suggestion to India is to find two batters who aren’t T20 guys. Guys that play a bit like Pujara, where he wasn’t really considered in any IPL teams. And develop two of those guys so you have a solid technical backbone in the batting department so you can rely on those guys for 5-10 years to come.” He continued: “The selectors have to identify tempratent and technique. There are certain techniques that have to be good enough to survive in Test cricket. In and around that, you can have your Pants, Jaiswals, who play the T20 stuff but come back and still play Test cricket and add the flair and flamboyance.” India failed to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time in tournament history earlier this year. They have also severely dampened their chances of finishing in the top two for the 2025-27 WTC cycle with their latest setback against the Proteas. Cheteshwar Pujara retired from all forms of Indian cricket earlier in the year Cheteshwar Pujara retired from all forms of Indian cricket earlier in the year. The right-hander held India’s Test batting together for 13 years in his 103-match career. Pujara finished with over 7, 000 runs, including 19 centuries, at an average of 43. 60. The veteran was the Player of the Series in India’s first-ever Test series win in Australia in 2018/19. However, Pujara was not part of the Indian Test setup since the 2023 WTC final loss against Australia. India has struggled to identify a consistent No. 3 batter, with several players like Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, and Washington Sundar, among others, having tried the position.
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“Guys that play a bit like Pujara” – South African legend’s huge advice to Team India after 0-2 whitewash in IND vs SA 2025 Tests
