County Cricket is the way to go to be successful in Tests overseas: Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara, the core part of India Test team, has emphasised the importance of playing in county cricket as Team India will tour England in 2018. The batsman expressed that the county cricket is the only way to be successful in Tests overseas. He also said that his stint there has helped him grow as a cricketer.

Pujara was the first to start the trend by joining Nottinghamshire ahead of the County Championship. Recently, after being rested for the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka, Ravichandran Ashwin also joined Worcestershire for the last leg of the championship. As per the reports, Jadeja will also join some team soon and the skipper Kohli has already expressed his wish to play in England before touring the country.

Pujara recollected his county stint and also spoke about various aspects of his cricket. “Playing county cricket is about being in that environment and batting on those wickets which seam and have a bit of bounce. It’s all about getting the experience and nothing related to your technique. Once you reach a certain point (in your career), your technique is very much decided and all you need to do is fine-tune it,” he said in an interview with Times of India.

The 29-year-old also felt that Ashwin and other cricketers who are about to join England’s domestic championship would benefit from playing in it and will help them grow as a cricketer. “If you start playing county cricket, you start having an idea about how to perform in those conditions. I believe county cricket helps you grow as a cricketer. I feel if you want to play Test cricket and aim to do well in different venues, county cricket is the way to go,” he said.

Sri Lanka series win was a team effort

Pujara credited the team for the historic whitewash in Sri Lanka. The batsman himself scored 309 in 4 innings in the series. “If you look at our batting, each one has stood up and made themselves counted. Also, this Indian team’s bench strength is quite strong. Whoever has come into the XI has gone on to make a contribution. Players such as Kuldeep Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Karun Nair and even Abhinav Mukund have all performed when given opportunities. Even our fast bowlers Umesh and Shami have been bowling well,” Pujara stated.

He was all praise when asked about their new coach Ravi Shastri saying that he knows all the players very well. “Ravi bhai is someone who gives players enough freedom and at the same time knows what is needed for the players to be in the best possible shape ahead of any game. He makes players feel welcome and players understand their roles in the side,” India’s Test No.3 concluded.