Cheteshwar Pujara opens up on the advice he received from Rahul Dravid regarding batting in T20 cricket

Cheteshwar Pujara will be seen in the yellow jersey and will offer his services to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, the last time Pujara featured in an IPL match was way back in the year 2014.

Pujara has now revealed the advice he received from the legendary Rahul Dravid when he started playing international cricket. Pujara stated that when he used to play T20 cricket in the past, he was worried whether T20 cricket would affect the way he played Test cricket.

Pujara then added that he realized with the passage of time that his natural game will never go away. He further said that the legendary Rahul Dravid had told him that the natural game of a batsman will always stay even if the batsman tries to play different shots.

“It all comes with experience. When I was playing the T20 format in the past, I had a little bit of a worry that what if my Test cricket gets spoiled? Then there will be some technical error once the IPL gets over. But now I am over that. What I realized over a period of time is my natural game, my strengths, will never go away. This advice I got from Rahul bhai [Dravid] long ago, but I would still like to mention it. He told me that your natural game will not change although you try playing different shots,” revealed Pujara in a chat with ESPNCricinfo.

“Adapting to the T20 format and moving into Test cricket will not be an issue,” states Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara also revealed that he started playing cricket at an early age, and added that he has been playing the sport for a period of 15 years now. Pujara further said that when he plays T20 cricket, he will not forget Test match cricket, and he will not have an issue with respect to switching between formats.

“I started playing cricket at an early age. I made my first-class debut in 2005-06. So, it is almost 15 years now where I’ve played this game. So, if I am playing the T20 format now, when I prepare for a Test series, I won’t forget Test cricket. Adapting to the T20 format and moving into Test cricket again won’t be an issue, for sure,” concluded Pujara.