New Delhi: Cheteshwar Pujara said on Thursday that he has understood the need to bring flexibility in batting to remain relevant in Tests. He plays in this format of cricket. Pujara, who is on the threshold of his 100th Test after an international career spanning over a decade and a half, has added some new shots to his batting after discussions with the team management. Last year, Pujara was briefly dropped from the Indian team during the home series against Sri Lanka. It was then claimed that he could not take his game forward, which put pressure on the bowlers.
Asked about the difficulties faced in this on the eve of the second Test against Australia, Pujara told PTI, “Definitely it was challenging, but the most important thing is that you have to be mentally strong.” It is necessary, you have to believe in yourself. ,
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“I know what I have done, how I got success in the first five-seven years and I can’t change my game, but definitely you can improve your game and improve your game,” he said. You can add some things to the game. But you can’t change your whole game. ,
Pujara (Cheteshwar Pujara) has so far scored 19 centuries and more than 7000 runs. Then another challenge comes from players playing multiple formats who have a different dimension to their attacking game. He said, “Every player has a different style. What I have learned over the years is to stick to your strengths and you should support that. I have added some shots to my game over the years and have continued to grow as a cricketer. ,
After being dropped from the Indian team, he went on to play English county cricket and scored a lot of runs for Sussex, returning to become the 13th Indian to play 100 Tests. He said, “I had already spoken to Rahul bhai (Dravid) and Vicky paaji (Vikram Rathore). Even though I was out of the team, I was very clear that there are some things that I have to work on and then I will get a chance to play for India. ,
Pujara said, “I got a chance to play in the only Test match in England and I was ready. I had played first-class matches for Sussex and scored a lot of runs which gave me a lot of confidence. Pujara said that he is now ready to play some unorthodox shots in the traditional format. He said, “As a cricketer, I played white ball cricket. It helped me playing for Saurashtra and Sussex where I tried to play sweep shots against fast bowlers and also play paddle scoop. ,
He said, “I wanted to put these shots to the test. It helped me in the last series against Bangladesh as well and when we needed to accelerate, I got to play a few shots. Pujara said, “I have become a bit more open minded and flexible to changes and adapt to situations and ready to change in technology.” (agency)