IND vs ENG: Why India will miss Cheteshwar Pujara but not Ajinkya Rahane in England Test series

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IND vs ENG: The new-look Indian Test team will take on England in a 5-Test series starting January 25 in Hyderabad. Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have once again been ignored for the series.

After India's middle-order failure in the 2-Test series against India, experts including Sunil Gavaskar and Harbhajan Singh had called out the selectors for overlooking Pujara and Rahane.

However, the team management and the selectors paid no heed, and once again ignored the two veteran batters. Shreyas Iyer will continue to bat in the middle-order, and Shubman Gill is once again set to get a chance to prove himself at number three.

IND vs ENG: Will India miss Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane?

Taking into consideration the stats of the two players, India are more likely to miss Pujara than Rahane. The Saurashtra star batter, who held the guard for India at number three for a decade, has an impeccable record against England at home.

He is the fourth-highest run-scorer for India against England in Test matches at home. Among active batters, Pujara is only behind Virat Kohli in the list.

Pujara has scored 972 runs in 13 home Test matches against England at an average of 51.15 and a highest score of 206 unbeaten runs. In total, he has hit four hundreds and two fifties in home Test matches against England.

Mohammad Azharuddin is the only batter who has hit four Test hundreds against England in India. Gundappa Viswanath, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have hit three hundreds each.

Most runs vs England in India

• Sunil Gavaskar: 1331
• Gundappa Viswanath: 1022
• Virat Kohli: 1015
• Cheteshwar Pujara: 972
• Sachin Tendulkar: 960

India missed Pujara in South Africa. Once Gill fails at three, he will be missed again. The Saurashtra batter has stood tall for India in extremely tough conditions, and therefore his absence will be missed from time to time in the coming years.

Ajinkya Rahane's Test record vs England in India

Ajinkya Rahane has also been one of the best Test batters produced by India, but his Test numbers against England at home have been humbling. In seven matches, the 35-year-old has scored just 175 runs at an average of 15.90. His highest Test score against England at home is 67.

Rahane's Test average in India is lower than his career average of 38.46. The Mumbai batter's average in India (35.73) is lesser than what he averages in Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

The former vice-captain recently expressed his desire to play 100 Test matches for India. Rahane has played in 85 Test matches till date and would need a miraculous comeback to fulfil his wish.