Bangladesh star distances himself from Cheteshwar Pujara comparisons, makes huge statement on out-of-favor India batter

Cheteshwar Pujara is not a modern-day batter who likes to go for his shots. Instead, Pujara is someone who likes to wear the bowling attacks down with his dogged batting approach. This is the reason for his success in Test cricket over the last decade.

Bangladesh's Test opener Zakir Hasan hailed Pujara for his batting approach and claimed that he cannot bat like him. Zakir is one of the emerging batting talents coming through from Bangladesh.

He has already made his mark in Test cricket with a century to his name. Surprisingly, that century came against India in his maiden Test match at Chattogram during India's tour of Bangladesh in 2022. He is likely to feature in the two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh which will be played in September 2024.

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Zakir Hasan hails Cheteshwar Pujara for his dogged batting approach in Tests

While speaking to Cricbuzz, Zakir Hasan claimed that Pujara has a unique ability to tire down the bowlers. He also added that Bangladesh's batters can adapt to Pujara's methods but it depends upon the requirements of the team

"Obviously, it can be there. But to me that depends team-wise and the strength of your team, what is your team's strategy overall, What I saw, amongst the India team those who play Tests, their role is completely different. Pujara is the only one who has that ability, and the whole team trusts his ability that he will play for a long time and tire the bowlers," Zakir stated.

The 26-year-old also mentioned that he is not used to playing like Pujara but can bide his time if he wants to play a long innings.

"But if you look at our team, we can also adapt to that way too. But if you ask about me, all I can say is that I am not used to playing like Pujara but ultimately if you see me playing a big innings then I need some time so I try to take as much time as I need to build my innings," the opener added.

Zakir Hasan's record in Test cricket

Zakir Hasan has played 7 Tests for Bangladesh and scored 455 runs at an average of 32.50 with 1 hundred and 4 fifties to his name. He scored a patient 100 off 224 balls in the second innings of his debut Test against a quality bowling line-up that consisted of Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav.

Cheteshwar Pujara was also a part of this Test and he had a fantastic outing with the bat scoring 90 and 102* across both innings of the Test match. His brilliance ensured India emerged victorious in the end.

Pujara has had an outstanding Test career spanning over 100 Tests. He has scored 7195 runs in Test cricket at an average of 43.60 with 19 hundreds and 39 fifties to his name. The 36-year-old played a crucial role in India's historic Test series win in BGT 2018-19 where he was the highest run-scorer across both the teams.