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"What's eating Cheteshwar Pujara?" - Aakash chopra


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Every time Cheteshwar Pujara has walked to the crease in the recent past, I have wondered to myself what's becoming of him. His travails have often taken me back to my time at the top.

 

After a middling tour of England and a poor one of Australia in 2014, Pujara's next shot at Test cricket came in Colombo in August 2015, when India lost Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay to injury.At the SSC, Pujara was asked to open - a position he wouldn't call his own even at first-class level. To his credit, he made a match- and series-winning unbeaten century, and it felt like his career was back on track.

But the pressure returned when he averaged 33.66 from four home Tests against South Africa in November-December last year. That's the curse of playing only one format. Every success is quickly forgotten and every failure disproportionately magnified.

 

Now, his two low scores in the West Indies, when seen alongside KL Rahul's hundred and Dhawan's 84, will put Pujara's selection in jeopardy once again.

 

Is Pujara also only thinking about occupying the crease and considering runs a by-product of his stay? Is his first thought to stay unbeaten, and not about scoring the next run? That can happen to people who take pride in their tight technique and powers of concentration. His defensive technique may have been tested lately but it's still good enough to get him big Test runs.

 

Could it be that Pujara's biggest strength is holding him back too? Or is he struggling on slow surfaces? He has scored double-centuries on low and slow Indian pitches against Australia and England, so why should they bother him now? Perhaps it's simply a case of being out of form and therefore not being as assured as he used to be.

 

The best way to gauge if a batsman is struggling with form is to see if he's misjudging the line or length often. While you're going through a bad patch, you seldom realise that you aren't watching the release as closely as possible, and even when you try to do so consciously, there's a delay in processing the information because your mind is occupied with other thoughts.

 

The good news is that India are scheduled to play 15 more Tests over the next ten months. But the bad news for Pujara is that India are keen to play only five front-line batsmen, and there's a serious fight for those five places.

 

Pujara is infinitely more skilled than I ever was and it hurts me to see him stifled. His batting might not be as pleasing to the eye as Ajinkya Rahane's or Virat Kohli's, but it has never been an eyesore either. When Pujara bats fluently, he dances down the track to spinners, and goes on the back foot to fast bowlers, clipping them off his legs.

 

The quickness of his foot movements and his aggressive intent have been missing lately. I wish he finds his mojo soon, for India's long Test season will require Pujara's solidity at No. 3.

 

Full article- http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/1042869.html?CMP=OTC-RSS&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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Guys who R baying for Pujara ouster can't see the obvious, he has what it takes n can be India's most dependable bat, just needs to relax n not put too much pressure on himself, only area he needs to improve is quick singles, I have seen him score 2 back to back big odi 150s about in final n semi finals n also a big score in quarters against Good bowlers so yes he can score fast n hit big scores, has temperament, technique, injury came at wrong time, Dhawan, Rohit should be kept away from test.

With 

Vijay

K L Rahul

Pujara

Kohli

Rahane 

We will have the best batting line up in test cricket and one who can play well away as well.Selectors though should look to groom n select talented youngsters like Nair, Iyer, Pandey, Sarfaraz ,Jadhav also looks to have Sehwag like game n deserves a longer stint and in case of injury or loss of form we have guys waiting.

Pujara should not be left outside team left along squad, he should be given confidence n will be back to his best n his best means averaging 50 or over in tests n that's very good

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5 hours ago, MCcricket said:

Guys who R baying for Pujara ouster can't see the obvious, he has what it takes n can be India's most dependable bat, just needs to relax n not put too much pressure on himself, only area he needs to improve is quick singles, I have seen him score 2 back to back big odi 150s about in final n semi finals n also a big score in quarters against Good bowlers so yes he can score fast n hit big scores, has temperament, technique, injury came at wrong time, Dhawan, Rohit should be kept away from test.

With 

Vijay

K L Rahul

Pujara

Kohli

Rahane 

We will have the best batting line up in test cricket and one who can play well away as well.Selectors though should look to groom n select talented youngsters like Nair, Iyer, Pandey, Sarfaraz ,Jadhav also looks to have Sehwag like game n deserves a longer stint and in case of injury or loss of form we have guys waiting.

Pujara should not be left outside team left along squad, he should be given confidence n will be back to his best n his best means averaging 50 or over in tests n that's very good

Totally agree.....

This is where good captains are different from great captain...

Kohli should look for long term benefit and invest in him, because he can get you runs anywhere in the world

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Pujara's issue can be traced to few issues. 

 

1. He debuted couple of years after he should have due to our seniors overstaying. That was the time when we was at his run scoring peak. 

2. He has had terrible luck with injuries and has had to contend with knee problems and surgeries. This is the biggest factor affecting him IMO. He has had to take long breaks off and it is very tough for someone contending to be in Indian top order 

3. Not playing all format hurts him. Test cricket nowadays is much more positive than before. even on tough pitches positive run scoring is preferred. Pujara sits out for large part of the season and our domestic cricket is not challenging enough to substitute for good quality international cricket. Right now Rahane is in danger of getting into this trap but atleast he is good stroke player so will maintain ODI spot. Guys like dhawan will be given chances for their ability to score. Rohit will always be in reckoning if he has a couple of good ODI series. 

4. finally we can't keep making excuses for him. he has to grab the opportunities given to him. he has to disprove the tag of not being able to play on fast bowling aided conditions. SL century was one such occasion where showed on a tough pitch how he can be better than some of the other flaky choices. 

 

Pujara has a tough road ahead of him. hopefully he makes the best of him. I really like him and want him to do well. 

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