Rahul Dravid Has Always Been An Inspiration For Me – Cheteshwar Pujara

Published - 23 Jun 2022, 01:22 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:09 AM

Rahul Dravid, Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo: BCCI)

Veteran India National Cricket Team batter Cheteshwar Pujara has said that India head coach Rahul Dravid has always been an inspiration for him.

Pujara was dropped from the Indian Test side ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home and after that, he played a few Ranji Trophy games before travelling to England for the County championship.

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Cheteshwar Pujara (Image Credits: Twitter)

He performed incredibly well for Sussex and smashed 4 consecutive centuries, including two double centuries. Overall, Pujara scored 720 runs in 5 matches to get his India recall.

While talking about Dravid, Pujara told the BCCI that he has learned a lot of things from the India head coach and he has always been helpful.

“Rahul Bhai has always been an inspiration for me. When I first met him in 2007, he was leading the India team. He came to Rajkot. That was my first interaction with him as a young kid.

“After that, I have always been in touch, I have learned so many things from him as a cricketer when I was playing with him and even after he retired and coached India A team, he has always been helpful,” he stated.

He always keeps things simple – Cheteshwar Pujara on Rahul Dravid

The veteran India batter added that the India head coach doesn’t complicate things and he tries to keep things as simple as possible.

“He always keeps simple, he has great ideas about batting, he doesn’t complicate things. It’s always good to learn from him, it’s always good to work with Rahul Bhai,” he said.

Pujara further said that if India manage to win the Test series against England it will be “one of the best victories” of all time.

“It’s a good environment to be in, even when we played here in 2021 when Ravi (Shastri) Bhai was around, the way the guys played (was fantastic),” he said.

“I am sure guys are eager to do the same thing again, if we can win this match and win the series on English soil, it will be one of the best victories India has had,” he added.

The 5th and last Test match of the series between India and England, which was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp, will be played at the Edgbaston, Birmingham from Friday, July 1. Also, India are leading the series by 2-1.