IND vs ENG: Graeme Swann Snubs Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar To Name This Batter As Toughest He Faced
Graeme Swann played a huge role in England’s series win in India back in 2012. He and Monty Panesar together bamboozled the Indian batting order as both together took 37 wickets in the four-match series. Recently, Graeme Swann revealed that it was not Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, or VVS Laxman who troubled him the most was a 24-year-old youngster with nimble footwork.
Graeme Swann revealed that Cheteshwar Pujara who was just bursting onto the scene as a youngster in 2012 was the batter that he did not like to bowl. Cheteshwar Pujara might not have been in the scheme of things for Tests in the past few months but during his peak, he was one of the most prolific batters for India in the red-ball format. He could bat in all conditions and was amongst one of the best players of spin.
Former England off-spinner Graeme Swann said that Pujara’s nimble footwork made it unpleasant to bowl to him. He revealed that he did not like bowling to Pujara in the series. “The one batter I didn’t like bowling to was (Cheteshwar) Pujara because was very nimble on his feet,” Graeme Swann said in a podcast for Sky Sports Cricket.
Graeme Swann Feels Strange About Not Liking To Bowl To Cheteshwar Pujara
Graeme Swann played a key role for England in their series win in India in 2012. He took 20 wickets in the series and helped his team register their name in a famous series win against India in India. However, he said, “It’s strange when I look back at the team they had — VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli — and the one that I didn’t like bowling to was Pujara.”
The Indian squad for the five-match Test series against England has not been announced yet but Pujara’s place in the squad is doubtful as he has not played Test cricket since the ICC World Test Championship Finals in 2023. He recently scored a double century in the Ranji Trophy against Jharkhand while playing for Saurashtra which might have rang a bell in the selectors’ ears but it seems like Team India will show faith in Shubman Gill who is batting at No.3 in Test cricket since the West Indies series.
Graeme Swann reckons Cheteshwar Pujara’s nimble footwork allows him to play spin very easily and it has been seen that Pujara hardly gets out on spinners. However, his records recently for India have been shambolic as he could manage just one fifty-plus score in 2023. Pujara’s age is also a factor that bothers the selectors as he is not in for a long run in Test cricket given he is already 35 years old.
England will hope to rewrite history by beating India in a Test series in India after a 12-year-old long jinx. They were the last away side to win a Test series in India and they could do it again as Graeme Swann believes. The first Test of the five-match series will be played in Hyderabad starting from January 25.
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Cheteshwar Pujara Graeme Swann IND vs ENG 2024 India National Cricket Team Sachin Tendulkar Virat Kohli
