IPL 2021: No Doubts About Cheteshwar Pujara’s Ability But Let’s See If He Can Make It In T20 format, Says Brett Lee

Cheteshwar Pujara might have found an IPL contract but former Australian cricketer Brett Lee feels that the Indian cricketer will have the challenge to score runs quickly in IPL 2021. Pujara, who is India’s Test specialist, was bought by Chennai Super Kings during IPL 2021 auction. The three-time IPL champions CSK bought Pujara for Rs. 50 lakh during the mini-auction.

The right-handed batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is a permanent player in the Test squad of the Indian team, but when it comes to T20I and ODIs, he is overlooked. Due to his Test profile, he was also overlooked by franchisees over the years for the Indian Premier League. Pujara did not find any buyers in the last six editions.

The 33-year-old Pujara last played in IPL 2014, where he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore. (RCB) He has also played for Punjab Kings franchisee in the past.

No Doubts About Cheteshwar Pujara’s Ability: Brett Lee

The former Australian cricketer Brett Lee mentioned that Cheteshwar Puraja is a great terrific cricketer but IPL is t20 cricket and not Test cricket. “You can look at two different aspects. Firstly, he is a terrific cricketer – there is no doubt about his ability, no doubt about his technique or his determination to bat time. But when you look at the other side of things, you’ve also got to think that this isn’t Test cricket, this is T20s. It’s over in 90 minutes, 20 overs,” Lee was quoted as saying by SportsAdda during a show titled T20 Crazy.

Lee also pointed out one has to score quickly in the T20 format and we have to see if Pujara can play effectively in this format.

“You’ve got to score runs as quickly as possible. Can he do that under pressure? Maybe he can. What we’ve seen recently in the Australian series is that he loves to bat time so look it’s an interesting call. I’m a big fan of Pujara, I think he has a lot to offer. But let’s see if he can make it in this format,” Lee further said.

Pujara was recently handed over the team jersey of Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni. Some videos of Pujara playing in the nets in the CSK training camp also went viral on social media. Chennai Super Kings will commence their IPL 2021 journey against Delhi Capitals on April 10 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.