Cheteshwar Pujara ready to accelerate in Zimbabwe tour

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara believes that it is the right time for him to change the colors of his Indian jersey, from clean and classy white to aggressive blue. By being given an opportunity to play for the Indian ODI team on their tour to Zimbabwe later this month, he has got a chance to silence his critics who believe he isn’t cut out for this form of cricket.

There is a high probability of Pujara making his debut in this series. It is the right time for him to reply to his critics by shifting gears for the faster form of the cricket. India will be playing 5 ODIs against Zimbabwe starting from 24th July.

In a recent interview, Pujara was confident enough to represent India in the ODIs and accepted it as the best opportunity given to him to change peoples’ perception that he is just fit for Test cricket.

“I think I have the basics, now it’s just about shifting the gears at the right time, and that comes with more matches at the international level,” he said.

“My technique is correct. Yeah, maybe at times, you need to learn (to play) more shots and you need to play according to the situation, but that comes with experience.”

After being consistent and scoring heavily in the domestic cricket, he was picked up for the India team three years ago. And by scoring heaps of runs in against England, Australia and New Zealand, he lived up to the expectations of the selectors.

“With the two new balls, it does make a difference, and you have to be technically correct,” he said. “If you are playing on a flat wicket, then it’s a different story altogether, but when you are playing overseas, you can’t play your shots from the beginning, and you need wickets at the end to accelerate. And with the new rules, you have five fielders inside (the circle), so even acceleration becomes easier once the ball is old. But you need to have wickets in hand.”

Lately, Pujara’s performance in the domestic limited-over formats and his stats attracted the eyes of the selectors and resulted in him being picked up for the Indian team. In 61 domestic one-dayers, Pujara has scored 2735 runs at an average of 56.97. He showed his potential in the last years Challenger trophy by smashing 158 not out, 124 not out and 79 at a strike rate of 107.

Later this year India, will be touring South Africa for Test series, and Pujara will be an integral part of this team, as his further duties after the Zimbabwe tour is captaining the India-A team when they visit South Africa. This would give him an edge along with a few other players to adapt to the playing conditions of South Africa.

“I have been to South Africa. I have played two Test matches, so I have some experience, but the A tour will be very helpful, for me and a few other players who will be part of the Indian team in November-December,” he said. “It will really help to score some runs and get some experience in these conditions before the main series.”