Cheteshwar Pujara opens up about his county stint before the England tour
Updated - 21 Feb 2018, 08:10 PM
Cheteshwar Pujara has become one of the most dependable batsmen for the Indian team since his debut. Pujara made his debut in October 2010 against Australia in Bengaluru.
The Test specialist Pujara is one of the rare old-school batsmen in the current crop. He is best known for his technique and his bottom hand dominated batting.
Pujara is known as the best replacement for India’s previous ‘Mr Dependable’ Rahul Dravid. The former already has two double centuries to his name. One against Australia (202) and another against England (206*).
The Rajkot-based Pujara has played 57 Tests in his eight years of international cricket scoring 4,496 runs at an average of 50.51.
In his last series Cheteshwar Pujara against South Africa, Pujara scored 90 runs in the three-match Test series.
This performance was below par according to the high standards he has set for himself. Pujara’s performance away from India has not been up to the mark.
However, Pujara really works hard to improve and is the only regular player from the Indian Test team who plays in the English county. Pujara played for Nottinghamshire in last year’s (2017) season.
He will turn up for Yorkshire this year with an eye on the five-match Test series against England in August.
Talking about his preparations for the upcoming season he said, “I am looking forward to the county season as we will be playing Test matches in August. I was with Yorkshire in 2015 when we won the County Championship. It’s a fantastic team with good bunch of professionals, which helps me become a better cricketer.”
Cheteshwar Pujara also added that the most beneficial part of playing county cricket at Test venues of India’s tour will give an idea about pitches and conditions.
“Look, playing at Headingley in early English summer with temperatures around 4 or 6 degrees will test any batsmen’s technique and temperament. Even scoring a 50 is tough. By the time, India tour starts, it will be bit more pleasant,” he said
“Now playing Division 1 has its advantages. I will be playing against Middlesex (Lord’s), Warwickshire (Birmingham) and Surrey (Oval) in away games, where India will play Test matches. So I will get a fair idea about the pitches and conditions,” he added.
Pujara also said that there won’t be much of a change in the technique from South Africa to England.
“The basics will remain the same but the primary criteria of doing well is respecting conditions. Technically, it’s more or less same. I use lighter bats when playing overseas. Also the kind of fight we put in South Africa will augur well for us in England. May be we could have batted a bit better but we were in with a chance in all games,” Pujara further said.
Pujara agreed that the team will be more aware and prepared to play Moeen Ali.
“Obviously we will be better prepared but that doesn’t mean we can take Moeen or any other English bowler lightly. The best part is we have a fair idea about their core bowling unit,” Pujara concluded.
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