After I got out early, I went to Cheteshwar Pujara for chat: Mohammad Rizwan

India’s ace Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara and Pakistan star Mohammad Rizwan are currently enjoying each other’s company while plying trade for Sussex in the ongoing County Championship. It is important to note that Pujara has been one of the most consistent batters of the side with already 717 runs in four games so far but the case with Rizwan is not really the same. While Pujara is the second-highest run-getter in the season, the Pakistan batter started on an inconsistent note.

In the same light, Rizwan opened on how we went to Pujara for a chat and gathered some advice from him after bearing early dismissals in County matches. The Pakistan cricketer also stated that he absorbed Pujara’s words of wisdom on the technique of playing close to the body. It was in the Sussex’s match against Durham where Pujara and Rizwan stitched a sturdy stand of 154 runs where the former slammed a double ton (203), and the latter pitched in with 79 runs.

Before slamming 79 runs, the Peshawar cricketer had scores of 22, 0, and 4, in three innings. Rizwan concluded the conversation on a funny note by adding what he learned from Pujara and one can ask Pujara himself as to what he learned from the Pakistan cricketer (with a laugh). Sussex will have its next contest against Leicestershire on May 12, Thursday.

Pujara told me a few things and one of them was to play close to the body: Mohammad Rizwan

“With Pujara, I had a chat with him after I got out early. He told me a few things and one of them was to play close to the body. And as everyone knows, we have been playing white-ball cricket consistently over the past few years and play a bit away from our body. In white-ball, you don’t play very close to your body since the ball doesn’t swing or seam as much,” Rizwan told Cricwick.

“So early on here, I played away from my body and got out twice in a similar way. Then I went over to meet him in the nets and I remember him saying that when we play in Asia, we force the ball to play the drive. Here, we don’t need to do that. And we need to play close to the body. I have played white-ball cricket consistently. So, these are the things which he told me and whatever he learned from me, he can tell [laughs],” he added.