India’s batting has landed into immense scrutiny in recent weeks, with that being a focus of the struggle as New Zealand whitewashed the team at home 3-0 in the recently-concluded series.

It is now the focus of question-marks as India prepare for the always-tricky Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where batting technique and temperament both will be tested thoroughly on difficult tracks by Australia’s world class bowling attack.

India will also be without Cheteshwar Pujara for the first time in Australia following his removal from the squad, with that being a matter of concern given Pujara was arguably the most important player with bat for India as they won the 2018-19 and 2020-21 series down under.

Former India batter and wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa reflected on Pujara’s importance to the team in those series, and argued that he was a must-have in as crucial a tour as this, as he continues to show strong form in the Ranji Trophy.

Speaking on his Youtube channel about the matter, Uthappa said "There is still a place for a player like Cheteshwar Pujara. According to me, a place for him will have to be made in this team as soon as possible. It's a need.”

Can someone fill Pujara's shoes at number three?

Uthappa also pointed out a strategic reason for this switch. Pujara’s replacement in the number three role is Shubman Gill, who has shown streaks of good form but also difficulty with some technical elements of his game. While Gill enjoyed a good debut tour of Australia last time out, he is not the model of the unmoving number three who can eat up overs and frustrate opposition bowlers in the way Pujara did with such importance for India.

"We have mostly aggressive batters from No. 1 to No. 6,” said Uthappa about the matter. “We need someone like Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahul Dravid, Kane Williamson and Will Young. We always need someone who can become an anchor and hold one end up and all the other batters can bat around him.”

The solidity of Pujara always paired well with the more front-foot approach enacted by the likes of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who shared such important partnerships with Pujara in Australia. Pujara isn’t part of India’s squad for the initial part of the tour, and with an eye for the future, India might be more keen to try and unearth the next Pujara rather than bring the original back into the fold.

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