Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar weighed in on BCCI’s decision to drop Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for the home Test series against Sri Lanka, saying it was expected that both senior batters would be dropped after the South Africa series.

Pujara and Rahane have been excluded from the Test side as India announced their squads for the Test and T20I series against Sri Lanka. The two veterans have struggled in the longest format over the past couple of years, leading to their exclusion from the longest format.

“It was expected. If in the three Tests in South Africa, one of them had hit a century or played an innings of 80-90 runs, then it would have been a different matter. Yes, Ajinkya Rahane played an attractive knock. But apart from that, there weren’t enough runs from them when it was expected and when the team needed the runs,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak.

However, Gavaskar pointed out that both Pujara and Rahane can surely come back to the Indian side but they will have to score consistently as it could become difficult for them if young players who will get the opportunity against Sri Lanka perform well.

“They can return, why not? If they display very good form, score 200-250 in every Ranji Trophy match, then a return is definitely possible. But after this Test series, there is just a one-off Test in England and then after that, there is the T20 World Cup, so we will be in November and December (for the subsequent Test).

“So I think time will not be on their side because they will be in their mid-30s. If a chance has been given to youngsters in these two vacant spots — and if those youngsters take this opportunity by their hands — then it will be difficult for them (Pujara and Rahane) to return to the team,” Gavaskar added.