I had a great experience working with Dhoni: Cheteshwar Pujara

He wasn’t in the thick of things as far as the Indian Test team is concerned, he had a few opportunities, couldn’t make the most of it, then he was overlooked to give Rohit Sharma a chance in the 3rd Test in West Indies since he comes around as an impact player. Cheteshwar Pujara was disappointed but he did the textbook thing and went back to domestic cricket and piled on the runs to be retained in the team for the home series against New Zealand. Pujara impressed most with his knocks of 166 and 256* in the Duleep Trophy with that he got to his 10th first-class double century also completed 10,000 first-class runs.

He was relieved and happy that things turned out well for him and his team in the Duleep Trophy since it is the first time he faced the pink ball. In an interview with India Today, Pujara said, “Yes, relieved a bit. Happy with my performance and also the team’s showing. It’s my first experience of playing with the pink ball. It always feels good whenever you score big. Batting under lights seemed a bit difficult for the first time as I had no experience playing with the pink ball earlier. But I feel that the more we play with pink ball it will be easier to read a bowler under lights with the passage of time.”

Scoring big centuries has been his USP in the domestic circuit. He is one of those players who sticks around after getting the hundred or even the two hundred for that matter and carries on to build it into an even bigger knock.

But that wasn’t the case in the last year or so, he was getting the starts but was not able to break out of the shell. “I agree, overall I couldn’t get the big scores which I wanted. But, at the same time, my contribution to the team, the 70s and 80s against South Africa, that too on challenging wickets, was a good one. Team totals weren’t that big too in that series. In West Indies, I got a good start in the first Test before playing a wrong shot. In the second Test, I was batting well but unfortunately got run out. Many times you are batting well but can’t get the big score. Sometimes, you just have to accept the fact that you are batting well but the big runs aren’t coming.” Pujara said.

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He was seen as the solid successor to Rahul Dravid but hasn’t quite been able to deliver with the demanded consistency in recent times and thus Cheteshwar Pujara is no longer guaranteed a place in the team. The sword is hanging on his head and even head coach Anil Kumble accepted it. To make competition tougher for him Lokesh Rahul who opened in absence of Murali Vijay has done exceptionally well. So the top order now has a little on stake with lots of bidders.

“It is a really good thing. You need some competition. The players should know that if you are not performing well then there is someone ready to replace you. In a way, you will always try to give your best. At the same time, you can always help each other even while competing against each other. You can even ask each other about the mistakes one is committing when going through a lean patch. You can talk with the player who is scoring runs about his experience, how he is dealing with the situation. This is a young team, it is a learning phase for us. Good thing is that all players have played alongside each other for a long time, be it junior cricket or for India A. We all know each other quite well and share our experiences which results in a good environment in the team.” He said talking about how healthy competition benefits the players and the team.

When asked about the two captains he has played under, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli Pujara said, “I had a great experience working with Dhoni bhai. And, ditto with Virat. Every Indian skipper’s main aim is to win the match for the country. The aim remains the same.  The environment in the dressing room was also good earlier and remains like that even now.  Yes, Virat is very aggressive and sets the example for others to follow. He leads from the front. The way he is batting right now and scoring runs is exceptional. He is so good in fielding as well. His fitness is brilliant. He inspires all the youngsters with his commitment and dedication.”

The young Indian team has an experienced head to lead them in Anil Kumble who took over the reins just ahead of the West Indies tour and things did go well for Team India in the Caribbean. “He (Kumble) has played international cricket for so long. His experience is unmatched as he has gone through so many different phases in his career. He understands a player’s psychology quite well and how he can contribute to it so that the end result is good. It is really helping a lot.” The 28-year old said.

Team India play 13 Tests at home in a stretch till March 2017 and he will be expected to score big each time he walks to the middle. “I will try to perform to the best of my ability. Most of the times expectations are a lot. Everyone expects a double century from you. Trust me, it is not easy to get a double ton even in domestic cricket. It requires a lot of concentration, determination and dedication.

If I get set, I always try to go for the big one. I just make sure that I play with my natural instinct and score runs.” Pujara concluded saying.

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