We'll Have To Ask For wheelchairs: Cheteshwar Pujara Reveals Hilarious Sledge From Australians

Cheteshwar Pujara has developed a special liking for Australia in the last few years. No matter where he plays, the India star always makes sure to give the Aussies a hard time on the field. He was a constant thorn in the flesh for Australia during the four-Test series Down Under. The right-handed batsman sucked the life out of the Australians with his batting in hot conditions. In a series where most of the batsmen including Virat Kohli struggled to perform consistently, Pujara looked class apart.

While no other batsmen in the series could score more than 350 runs, Pujara scored a staggering 521 runs with the help of three centuries as India beat Australia 2-1 to register their first-ever Test series win on the Australian soil. He faced a staggering 1,258 balls in the series which is the most by an Indian in a Test series in Australia surpassing Rahul Dravid’s 1203 balls in the 2003/04 tour. The Saurashtra star batted approximately 1869 minutes in this Test series which is the third most by an Indian in a Test series.

In fact, during the course of his 193-run knock in Sydney, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon had also asked if he wasn’t bored, having batted hours and hours against them.

It was not the first time, Pujara had sent the Aussies on the leather hunt. When Australia had visited India in 2017, Pujara had played a marathon knock in the third Test in Ranchi. He had faced 525 balls to score a sublime double ton. He has now recently revealed a hilarious anecdote. Recalling the Ranchi Test, Pujara said one of the Australian players told him the visitors would have to ask for wheelchairs if he doesn’t get out.

“I never thought that he’ll say such a thing. And then when we were playing against Australia in the third Test in Ranchi in 2017, one of the players came and told me ‘Now if you don’t get out, we’ll have to ask for wheelchairs.’ I was batting on 170-plus. That’s the best sledge I remember from an Aussie player,” Pujara told the Times of India.

He further recalled how the Australians tried to unsettle him during the last series.

“There were many instances but I remember the first Test. Nathan Lyon and Tim Paine tried to sledge me. They almost felt that the game was over when we were 40 for four, they thought that we’ll be bowled out for 150-160.

“And even later on, I think in the third or fourth Test, they were trying to sledge me but at the same time, they started laughing in the end. Lyon came and told me: ‘Aren’t you bored of batting now? You’ve scored so many runs'” he said.