"Playing for Chennai is important because Dhoni is there" - Aakash Chopra says Ajinkya Rahane will stay a little more relevant than Cheteshwar Pujara

Aakash Chopra believes Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's non-selection in the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England was along expected lines. However, he feels the Mumbai batter will remain in contention for a place in the national side longer than the Saurashtra player.

The selectors recently announced a 16-member Indian squad for the Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam Tests against England. Despite the Indian batters' underwhelming performances in the recent series against South Africa, neither Pujara nor Rahane got a recall.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the doors are closed on Pujara and Rahane. However, he feels the latter might remain slightly longer in contention. He reasoned (3:30):

"The squad is along the expected lines. We had expected Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara not to be there. I feel that chapter is closed. If you didn't pick them in South Africa, that was the last opportunity to pick them. If you didn't pick them there, you are not going back to them.

"Ajinkya Rahane's IPL career is alive, so he will stay relevant a little more because you become a part of the conversation whenever you do well in the IPL. It's not important to play in Chennai. Playing for Chennai is important because Dhoni is there," the former India opener added.

Rahane earned an India recall for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the subsequent two-Test series against the West Indies based on his performances for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2023. Although he fared decently in the WTC final, he was dropped for the South Africa tour due to underwhelming performances against the Windies.

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"He doesn't score runs only for selection" - Aakash Chopra on Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara scored an unbeaten 243 in Saurashtra's Ranji Trophy clash against Jharkhand. [P/C: Getty]

Aakash Chopra noted that selection for India is not the only driving factor behind Cheteshwar Pujara continuing to score runs in first-class cricket. He elaborated (3:45):

"Cheteshwar Pujara scored a double century last week. He is the saint of cricket. He will keep scoring because he doesn't score runs only for selection. Half the world scores runs for selection. He plays cricket just because he likes batting."

The cricketer-turned-commentator expects the dogged batter to break virtually all first-class batting records. He said:

"He scores runs because he likes scoring runs. So Cheteshwar Pujara will continue to score runs and break all records in first-class cricket. I think he has already scored 61 first-class centuries. He will make 100, he won't stop, he won't retire at all."

Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, with 81 centuries apiece, are the Indian batters with the most first-class hundreds. While it might be a tall ask for Pujara to reach 100 first-class centuries, breaking Gavaskar and Tendulkar's record would be a more realistic target.