India vs Bangladesh: Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant are in the spotlight

Granted, it’s mostly a ceremonial role, given the actual vice-captain, KL Rahul, has been named the skipper for at least the first Test due to Rohit Sharma’s freak thumb injury.

However, it did showcase a straightforward fact – a message was being sent to Pant, and the player is used to doing it ironically himself far from a certainty in Tests in the long run.

In many ways, both Pant and Pujara are in a similar boat – despite which of them is being named vice-captain.

Pujara is a game veteran and undoubtedly one of India’s greatest-ever Test batters. However, he is also approaching an age where a call has to be taken on his future.

It doesn’t help matters that, in an era where Bazball and aggressive intent in Test cricket are becoming more and more commonplace, Pujara still plays the way he always did – by showing dogged determination and patience.

That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with being patient – Test cricket is not T20 cricket, and neither should it be.

But there remains an underlying feeling that, in the bid to be patient, Pujara can and will forego even the simplest of strike rotations; his boundary count is another matter altogether.

Pujara appeared, for all intents and purposes, out of the Test scheme of things in late 2021 and early 2022 but reinvigorated his career with a good showing in the county circuit in England.

This earned him a recall for the one-off Test against England, but he failed to make much of a mark, and his future is again up for discussion.

A good showing against Bangladesh won’t quell those doubts – statistics suggest he’s scored a large chunk of his runs in home-like conditions – but it will at least silence those doubters for a bit.

For Pant, the situation is more complex. His white-ball form has been under scrutiny, but his record in Test match cricket has been impeccable.

Yet doubts over his white ball form now lead to his spot in the Test team being questioned.

It’s not fair, given he should be given a longer rope in Tests due to his past match-winning performances – but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

It probably doesn’t help matters that the selectors have stuck with Pant in white ball cricket despite his poor form and ignored the likes of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan – players who many feel deserve at least half the number of chances that Pant has been afforded.

So, there will be a lot of eyes on both Pant and Pujara. Good performances from both players will undoubtedly extend the credit in their banks.

But poor performances will only lead to those doubtful voices growing–forcing the board and selectors to make a few harsh calls.