After winning the second Test and levelling the three-match series, India skipper Virat Kohli confirmed that Cheteshwar Pujara will play the deciding third Test, starting on August 28th, and open the innings alongside Lokesh Rahul.
Regular opener Murali Vijay, who had missed the first Test due to hamstring injury, had earlier been ruled out of the remainder of the series and the uncapped Karnataka batsman Karun Nair was called up to the squad.
“Looking at these conditions the reason behind getting Nair is we can have Pujara opening. He’s done it before in these conditions. The idea is to have Pujara open with Rahul since it’s only one Test. He’s done it in the past and I’m confident he can do it in the next Test,” Virat Kohli said in the press conference after the Colombo Test win.
Pujara has warmed the bench for a while with the likes of Lokesh Rahul and Rohit Sharma being preferred over him. Kohli praised Pujara’s attitude, Ajinkya Rahane’s flexibility and hinted at not changing a lot in their batting order.
“When there is the demand for Pujara to open in the next Test, he’s happy to do it. I firmly believe that we need to play the best eleven to win. Chopping and changing, I don’t mind so much. Someone like Pujara will understand if he has to open for just one Test and then maybe sit out for the next. As professional sportsmen you understand the reasoning. We’ll try to stick to the same batting order for the next match. We know that Rahane can bat at number three, five or six. Rohit is capable of batting at five. Good to have flexibility,”Kohli added.
