Cheteshwar Pujara wants to start sledging in a bid to help bowlers

The word sledging and Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t go hand-in-hand. They are like two ends of the spectrum as Pujara is known to be a cricketer who does all his talking through his willow. The ‘run-machine’ has had a stellar run in the recent past, scoring 1617 runs at 67.38 in the last 11 months. He also scored 6 Test hundreds in this period, the most by any batsman in the world.

Pujara gives a sneak-peek to his other side

In 3 innings in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka, Pujara has already racked up 301 runs which include 2 pristine hundreds. The 29-year old has been a rock for his team at the crucial No. 3 spot. In a fun interview with last match’s centurion Ajinkya Rahane, Pujara revealed that he is still learning the art of sledging. Being the quiet and calm personality that he is, the right-hander was quick to state that the talk on the field should never get personal.

Pujara also said that he wants to sledge opposition batsmen in an attempt to unsettle them which could help his team’s bowlers. Rahane stated that the incumbent No. 3 has already started sledging a little, which is in stark contrast to his personality. But the team man that he is, Pujara would go out of the way to help his teammates.

Kohli in awe of Pujara

Skipper Virat Kohli poured in a lot of praises for Pujara and Rahane. He stated that Pujara was a little ahead of Rahane because he represents India in only one format. Pujara’s consistency in Tests have been phenomenal and impressed Kohli a lot.

“Pujara and Ajinkya are our two best Test batsmen, especially in the middle order. They’ve been doing so well consistently. Pujara, I would give him more credit because he only plays one format for India. And to be able to have that hunger and passion day in day out, working hard on his game, coming out and having those consistent performances takes a lot of mental strength,” Kohli said.

“And he’s a guy with a lot of mental strength. He obviously has the game. He knows how to score runs, which is the most important thing. He has evolved massively as a cricketer since then.

“All of us have, but Pujara’s game has gone to another level. If you see last season, continuing now, he’s got about 1500 runs which is outstanding. All credit goes to how hard he’s works on the game, and how he thinks about his game as well,” he added.

In 50 Tests for India, the Saurashtra cricketer has 4009 runs to his name at an average of 53.23. He already has notched up 13 Test hundreds, which is the 11th highest by an Indian Test cricketer. His average is the second best amongst Indian batsmen who have scored more than 1500 Test runs.