What's the story?
In an exclusive interview with Times of India, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara spoke about the team’s performance in Test Cricket over the last one year and the road ahead for them. He also conceded that the team has played an excellent brand of cricket in the longer format in the past year.
Talking about the expectations ahead of their upcoming overseas tours, Pujara does not want the Indian team to lose the drive they get at home and believes that the experiences of the players will also play a key role in their game. “It's always important to play well away from home, but I don't think there should be any pressure on any of us. We have done really well at home recently and would like to carry the momentum in the coming months. Now, we are experienced because many of us have played in South Africa, England and Australia. We would like to capitalise on that and show that we can be competitive overseas as well.”
In case you didn't know...
Cheteshwar Pujara returned to India after his third stint in the County Cricket. He was signed as a replacement player for James Pattinson in the Nottinghamshire squad for four matches in the County Championship after the latter was called up by Australia for the Champions Trophy. Before playing for Notts, Pujara represented Yorkshire and Derbyshire previous two editions of this tournament.
Pujara is arguably one of the most dependable players in India's Test squad ever since he made a stunning comeback in the 2015 Test series against Sri Lanka after he was dropped from the XI earlier that year. His unbeaten 145 against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the third Test match helped India to register a historic series victory against them in their own backyard after 22 years. He also a had a great 2016-17 season in which he scored 1316 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 62.66.
Extra cover: West Indies vs India 2017: Virat Kohli blames poor shot selection for India’s loss
The heart of the matter
India lost only one match out of the seventeen matches played in the 2016/17 season, in which 13 out of the 17 were played at home. However, Virat Kohli and co. have multiple away tours scheduled this season and this is where the World no. 1 Test team will face a lot of challenges.
Pujara was aware of the momentum they gained after their consistently brilliant performances in the Test series against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia and is confident that the players will be driven by the same spirit when they go overseas.
In his interview, Pujara also spoke about Rahul Dravid as a mentor. The former regarded Dravid as a humble guide, who helped him during his tough times. Pujara also suggested that more of India's top players should play County Cricket as they get a chance to play on the challenging seamer-friendly pitches, something that is not common in India. He also believes that the exposure of playing domestic cricket away from home will help the players in building experiences which will influence their game when they tour overseas.
What's next?
India will tour Sri Lanka in July to take part in three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s before hosting Australia in October for seven ODIs and two T20s. Later this year, the Men in Blue will have their task cut out when they tour South Africa. The schedule for the tour has not been released by Cricket South Africa, however, it is believed that both the teams will play in three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20I as per the original itinerary. The long season will end when Sri Lanka travel across the Indian Ocean for a full tour.
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Author's take
There is no denying the fact that the Indian team has performed exceptionally well in the Tests in the last one year. But, the concern arises when overseas challenges come into the picture. It is important that the players understand the nerve of these situations before devising their strategy.
The Indian Test team need to address the complexity of playing the long format in unfamiliar conditions. Despite being the best, there are aspects that they need to build on if they do not wish to let their crown slip away.
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