'Cheteshwar Pujara must keep playing county cricket for England'

Cheteshwar Pujara bats for Yorkshire during the County Championship Division One match against Nottinghamshire in Leeds on April 20 PicGetty ImagesAs MSK Prasad amp Co get set to pick the Indian team for the oneoff Test against Afghanistan along with a host of other squads Indias limited overs tour to Ireland and England as well as for the India A triseries amp fourday matches former chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar felt Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara should stay put in England rather than return to India for the June 1418 Bangalore TestPujara along with Ishant Sharma are reportedly returning to India for the Afghanistan Test and then return to England to rejoin their respective county teams Yorkshire of which Pujara is part of and Sussex whom Ishant represents dont have firstclass fixtures during the Afghanistan Test Yorkshire will play Hampshire onJune 20Dilip VengsarkarIf Pujara is a certainty for the England Test series then he should stay in England and get thoroughly acclimatised to the conditions said Vengsarkar who was the chief selector when India last won a Test series in England in 2007 Pujara is experiencing a torrid time in the County Championship Division One managing just 83 runs in six innings for Yorkshire his highest score being 41 against Essex in his last match at ChelmsfordPriority is England tourThe England tour is the priority so it will be better for Pujara if he stays there for maximum time I dont see any point in him returning for the Afghanistan Test as that will not help him for the England series Vengsarkar opined In such a scenario Vengsarkar sees Ajinkya Rahane who will lead the Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli taking Pujaras batting position Rahane can bat at No3 the former India skipper saidThis would also settle the debate of who should get a lookin between Rohit Sharma and inform Shreyas Iyer to fill Kohlis spot Rohit can bat at No 4 and Shreyas can come in at No5 Vengsarkar said Going by Prasad amp Cos pattern of selection Iyer is likely to find a place of Kohli for the Afghanistan Test The Mumbai batsman had been called as a cover for injured Kohli during the Dharamsala Test against Australia in March 2017Pick GurbaniVengsarkar also suggested that Vidarbha pacer Rajneesh Gurbani should be included in the squad for the Afghanistan Test He was the most consistent domestic pace bowler last season among the top wickettakers 39 in six Ranji matches as well He needs to be rewarded This is the best time to experiment said Vengsarkar who felt Gurbani can be picked in place of his statemate Umesh YadavGurbani played a stellar role in Vidarbha not just reaching its maiden Ranji Trophy final but also winning the title In the summit clash against Delhi at Indore Gurbani became the second bowler in Indias Ranji Trophy history to claim a hattrick in the final Umesh is bowling at blistering pace in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore but warmed the bench during the recent threeTest series in South AfricaVengsarkars XIMurali Vijay KL Rahul Ajinkya Rahane Rohit Sharma Shreyas Iyer Wriddhiman Saha Hardik Pandya R Ashwin Kuldeep Yadav Bhuvneshwar Kumar only if fully fit or Rajneesh Gurbani and Jasprit Bumrah12th man Ravindra Jadeja