'Pujara found a way to score, Rahane hasn't been able to. You might see a change in the Indian batting-order': Zaheer

Considering the form of senior batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, former India pacer Zaheer Khan said there can be a change in the Indian middle-order in the fourth Test against England at The Oval starting on Thursday. Zaheer said while Pujara found a way to score in the previous Test at Headingley, Rahane still hasn’t been able to find his touch, which may prompt captain Virat Kohli to look at alternatives.

“Pujara was under pressure but he found a way to get out of that. He did something different and he got the results. Rahane hasn’t been able to do that. I think the series has reached at such a stage where these things would be analysed. And it’s possible that you can see a change,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.

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Both Pujara and Rahane have not been at their best this year. Consistency has been the biggest issue with the two experienced right-handers.

Pujara has shown sign of improvements with a fighting innings in the second innings at Lord’s and a fluent 91 at Headingley but Rahane still appears to be short of confidence.

Zaheer said both of them were under pressure going into the Headingley and Pujara performed but Rahane couldn’t.

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“Two players were under fire. One stepped up and performed but the other doesn’t seem comfortable yet,” Zaheer added.

The former left-arm seamer added that a senior player can’t just on his past laurels. He has to keep performing and set examples for the youngsters in the side.

“When you play for a longer period of time, you cannot just be in the team depending on the past performances. You have to meet the continuity.

“At the same time your role gets changed. You don’t just think about your game but need to set an example for the youngsters as a strong middle-order batsman. So, the more you progress in your career, the level of scrutiny also goes up,” he added.