Should Pujara, Rahane Be Recalled For Australia Tour?

'They need batters who can bat out a full session in Australia.'
'You have seniors like Pujara and Rahane, who are scoring runs in domestic cricket. They have experience of Australian conditions too.'
'They should be given a chance to make a comeback, no harm in trying especially when your batting line-up is not even lasting a full session.'

India's tame surrender against New Zealand at home has invited criticism from all quarters.

India suffered their first Test series whitewash at home in a series involving three or more Tests as they were thrashed 0-3 at home, ending their run of 18 series wins in a row.

Dodda Ganesh, who played four Tests for India in the 1990s, lambasted the Indian team for their poor showing at home against New Zealand, who had always struggled in spin-friendly conditions.

He believes India's batting line-up lacks resilience, with the batters focus on scoring runs quickly than playing to occupy the crease.

"The series started on the bad note for India. We were bowled out for 46 in Bengaluru when the toss decision boomeranged. There is a reason why Test cricket is the real test for any cricketer.

"The players from my generation have been born and brought up watching Test cricket, which teaches you to value every single ball, every session. You always take it session by session in Test cricket. If you can't last a session with the bat in Test cricket, then you won't play for long. It all comes down to the preparation," Ganesh tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com.

"The main thing is the batters should learn to play session by session. They don't want to stay for a session, they want to play their shots and score runs. I agree they want to play positive cricket but a positive approach also means playing out 90 overs in a day," he added.

Ganesh was an integral part of the Karnataka team for nearly a decade in the 1990s and 2000s, taking 365 wickets in 104 first class games, while scoring 2,023 runs with a century and seven fifties.

He says it was a big shock to watch India capitulate to New Zealand's spinners at home, especially collapsing to Mitchell Santner, who came into the series with modest record of 54 wickets in 28 Tests. The left-arm spinner demolished the highly-rated Indian batting line-up on a turning pitch in Pune with figures of 7/53 and 6/64 for a total of 13 wickets in the match to lead New Zealand to their first ever series triumph in India.

"Losing 3-0 to New Zealand at home is unacceptable. They haven't done well traditionally in spin-friendly conditions in Asia. People can understand if the Indian batters collapse against world class spinners Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan on a turning pitch, but if you are collapsing to Mitchell Santner, it is very embarrassing. Losing 3-0 at home is pathetic."

"You have great players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have seen so many highs and lows in their career, even for them this will be a new low.

"How many Tests had New Zealand won in India before this series? Just two Tests in nearly 70 years. But they have now won three Tests in three weeks. This is not acceptable."

Ganesh, 51, is at a loss of words to explain why India went in for rank turners in Pune and Mumbai despite their batters struggling for runs.

"In Bengaluru, they collapsed for a low score after that the batsmen started to panic. There was no need to prepare turning pitches for the next two Tests. They could have good sporting wickets which could have ensured our batters would have been in good frame of mind for the tour of Australia after scoring some runs.

"I don't understand after losing the series following the defeat in Pune, why did they ask to prepare a turning track for Mumbai? The series was gone any ways, atleast a good pitch would have put their batters in a proper frame of mind. There was no need for a spinning track because in Australia anyways you won't play on such pitches. Even if the match had finished in a high-scoring draw at least our batters would have got some form and confidence back."

He wants youngsters Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan to emulate greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, whose disciplined practice sessions was instrumental in their success across all conditions.

"If you see today, the young players are getting easy chances to play for India. If you see in the past, players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were so consistent. And before them Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, they scored runs everywhere. These players put in so much hard work during their practice sessions.

I have seen it myself how Sachin practiced at the NCA before the home series against Australia. I remember Dravid used to come to the NCA at 5 am and only went back after 6 pm. That is why they were so successful and got runs in any conditions. This is the kind of dedication the current players need."

Ganesh, who has done a coaching stint with Goa in domestic cricket, believes the only way to the Indian Test team should be through Ranji Trophy like it was during his playing days.

"In our times, it was very, very difficult to get a Test cap. The only way to get into the Test team back then was through domestic cricket. Now where do the top players play domestic cricket? All our senior players should set an example, they play in domestic cricket and set an example for the young players. Before every series, they should play a couple of domestic games."

Ganesh lauded the bowlers for keeping India in the hunt by bowling out New Zealand out for manageable totals in Pune and Mumbai.

"I would say the bowlers did a good job in all the Tests, they restricted them. But the top batters kept getting out at crucial times, so that affected our momentum. Maybe our bowlers were not able to run through the New Zealand batting line-up but they took wickets at regular intervals.

"I think India took New Zealand lightly. They should have had a proper camp of nearly 15 days before the New Zealand series because without preparations you will never be successful."

Asked whether India could consider bringing back Cheteshwar Pujara for the all-important tour of Australia, Ganesh replied: "They need batters who can bat out a full session in Australia. You have these seniors like Pujara and (Ajinkya) Rahane, who are scoring runs in domestic cricket. They have experience of Australian conditions too. They should be given a chance to make a comeback, no harm in trying especially when your batting line-up is not even lasting a full session."