IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara, who will Virat Kohli replace?

Virat Kohli, India's regular captain, is poised to return to the squad for the second Test match against New Zealand. In Kohli's absence, Shreyas Iyer was given his maiden Test cap, and the Mumbai batter wowed everyone by making a century and a half-century on his Test debut, a feat never before accomplished by an Indian player.

The Indian think tank is now in a difficult position with regards to selecting the team for the second Test, as they will need to make room for Kohli in the squad. This will necessitate someone leaving their place in the starting XI.

The key question is - who Kohli will replace in the starting line-up for the second Test vs New Zealand? Although Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer are among the non-regular members of the Test squad, Cheteshwar Pujara or Ajinkya Rahane might be omitted from the squad for the second Test to make way for Kohli.

Both Pujara and Rahane have been out of form for some months, and it's possible that one of them could be forced to leave the team in order for Kohli to return for the last Test against the Kiwis.

Rahane and Pujara's form a big concern for India

Rahane has played 12 Test matches for India in 2021 and averages less than 20, with no century to his name in the past year. Rahane's last Test century had come against Australia in the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where the Indian batter was made the stand-in captain in the absence of Kohli.

In the first Test match against New Zealand in Kanpur, Rahane scored 35 and 4 runs respectively in two innings, a below-par performance from a player of his calibre.

Meanwhile, Pujara has also played 12 Test matches for India in the 2021 season. Pujara has one century to his name in 2021, which came against Australia way back in January. After his fantastic innings at SCG, Pujara had come close to scoring one more century in August this year while playing an away Test against England at Leeds.

Pujara scored 26 and 22 runs respectively in the first Test against New Zealand. If it finally boils down to picking between Pujara and Rahane, the management could go with the former given his superior numbers in this season. 

Image: AP