Indian National Cricket Team striker Cheteshwar Pujara has revealed a funny incident he faced during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He talked about Australian National Cricket Team player Josh Hazlewood but did not want to see his face.
Cheteshwar Pujara has been one of the main reasons behind the Indian National Cricket Team’s dominance in the last two series. The Test specialist was solid at the crease in both the rounds and made sure to help his team win the two series.
Cheteshwar Pujara has batted long in the last two series against Australia
Cheteshwar Pujara batted long in both the series and caught the Australian National Cricket Team bowlers unawares. The batsman first tired the pacers and then attacked the bowlers by hitting boundaries at every corner.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the leading run-getter in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018/19. He ended up with 521 runs in 4 games, with three centuries and a fifty including 193 at the SCG. And though he didn’t get many runs in the next over, he stayed at the crease more than anyone else.
He said I have seen enough of Pujara on the field so I don’t want to see any video of him – Cheteshwar Pujara on Josh Hazlewood
During the Ulduz Sports press conference, Cheteshwar Pujara was asked to recall a funny anecdote he encountered during the Down Under BGT series. The blowup revealed how Josh Hazlewood told his team during one of their team meetings that he didn’t want to see his face. He elaborated:
“One thing I heard is that at one point Josh Hazlewood was in one of the team meetings. They showed my videos and he said, ‘I’ve seen enough of Pujara on the field, so I’m like, ‘I don’t want to see any videos of him.’
Cheteshwar Pujara also advised the Indians on how to tackle the short balls in Australia. He stressed that short pitched deliveries are below shoulder level and he should take the bowlers if he has a good pull shot. He added:
“When you face a short pitch delivery, you have to know if you are a good hammerer. If you are, then you have to pick up the bowlers, play that shot. But the most important thing when you face a short pitch delivery is that we play hook shots, which we haven’t quite been able to do, I would say. , most of the times when we face short pitched deliveries in Indian pitches most of the balls we face are below shoulder level and most of the short pitched deliveries when we go to Australia above shoulder level.”
You have to control the ball – Cheteshwar Pujara facing short balls in Australia
Talking about the same, Cheteshwar Pujara argued that batsmen should identify balls above shoulder level or head height. He emphasized that most of the batsmen in the current Indian team like to play ball but they need to be in control while playing. He added:
“As a monkey, you just have to identify the balls that are above my shoulder level or above my head. Those are the balls that you have to leave and the other balls that are shoulder height or below. That height is the height that you can play your pull shots because if you look at the current batting order, most of them are are aggressive players.
“They like to play that pull shot. But you have to control the ball and you know you have to have both. Sometimes you have to leave balls and sometimes you have to play the pull shot. So it’s about making the right decisions when you’re at the crease. You can’t set a goal that if the first ball is a bounce, I’m going to play a pull shot.. You just need to look at that ball and then come to this decision,” he concluded.
