'What is the criteria of dropping him' - Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at selectors' decision to drop Cheteshwar Pujara from Test squad

Cheteshwar Pujara & Sunil Gavaskar (Source: Twitter)

Pujara's exclusion from the Test squad against West Indies sparked discussions after his poor performance in the WTC final when the Indian Cricket Board announced the squad. Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is unhappy with the selectors' decision as he believes Pujara has been made the "scapegoat" for our batting failures.

"Why has he been dropped? Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures. He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket. A loyal and quiet servant. But because he does not have millions of followers on platforms who will make a noise in case he gets dropped, you drop him," the former India opener said in an interview with Sports Today.

Gavaskar further stated that queries about the selections could not be asked because there is no media interaction. "What is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed? I do not know because nowadays, there is no media interaction with the selection committee chairman."

I do not think age should be a factor: Gavaskar

Pujara is one of the few Indian players to focus on just one game format. Considered the 'Wall of Indian Cricket' after Rahul Dravid, the 35-year-old has played a crucial role in India's success. Gavaskar pointed out that Pujara has much experience playing red-ball cricket, and Pujara was not the only one who struggled in the WTC final against Australia.

"He has been playing country cricket. So, he has played a lot of red-call cricket and he knows what it is about. Today, people can play till they are 39-40 years old and as long as you are producing runs, I do not think age should be a factor. Apart from (Ajinkya) Rahane, the batting completely failed. Why Pujara has been made the fall guy is something the selectors will have to explain," the 73-year-old added.