Here's what Virat Kohli has to say on future of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara

Despite winning the first Test in an emphatic fashion, India went on to lose the three-match Test series on Friday. Although the expectations were higher from the Kohli-led side this time around, they simply couldn't live up to it.

Advertisment

As Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were consistently inconsistent throughout the series, India's Test captain Virat Kohli was asked about their future. Moreover, it is to be noted that the two senior batters haven't been at their best for quite a while now. Besides, neither of them have scored a single hundred in the last 12 months.

Thus, India's skipper hinted that batting changes are in order after the recent 1-2 series defeat to the Proteas. However, he said that it was tough to speak about the future of Pujara and Rahane instantly, adding that it's a call that the selectors will take. The 33-year-old also mentioned the fact that their batting let them down in the last two Tests.

“Batting has let us down in the last 2 Tests, there is no running away. It’s tough to tell now what is the future of Rahane & Pujara now, we need to sit and talk with selectors as well – they have done lots of a good job in the past, done well in tough situations,” said Virat Kohli during the post-match presentation.

The batting maestro also spoke about how a lapse of concentration cost the Asian side a few key moments, which the hosts then capitalized on. “Lapse of concentration cost us key moments and they seized those moments; absolutely deserving winners in the end. As I said, one of the challenges we’ve faced touring abroad is to make sure capitalising on momentum, when we’ve done that we’ve won Tests away from home. When we haven’t, they’ve cost us quite bad. Have had a few collapses that have cost us important moments and Test matches. It’s batting; can’t pinpoint any other aspect," he added.