Cheteshwar Pujara feels the lack of spin in England could become a problem for India

Cheteshwar Pujara, often dubbed as a Test specialist, who has played only five ODIs for India, feels that it is a big positive for India that several members of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 contingent have experience of playing in England before. He is confident that the Indian team has the right balance in the squad for the tournament while the lack of spin on offer in England is a cause of worry for him.

India are going into the tournament with as many as four pacers and three specialist spinners, of which one – Ravindra Jadeja is an all-rounder and two – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are pure bowlers. But with the flat pitches in England not assisting spinners as much as they would like, Pujara wonders if the Indian team can get enough wickets to stop the flow of runs.

“India have a balanced squad but the only concern for India is the lack of spin which will not help our spinners so India will have to figure out a way to pick wickets. It is important to pick wickets and get teams all out, especially in this format, because if you don’t start picking wickets ultimately you will concede too many runs. So I think our bowling will be the key when we play on flat wickets,” Pujara said at the CEAT awards in Mumbai.

India vs Pakistan game

Before the final draw is set, the biggest World Cup clash is the India vs Pakistan game, to be played on June 16 in Manchester and Pujara also thinks the Men in Blue need to win this one.

“The match against Pakistan is important but it is also important that we do not give too much attention to only one game. India need to win most of their games in order to keep qualifying for the next round,” he said.

As for himself, the batsman is eager to be playing the shorter formats of the game as well. Pujara played his last ODI against Bangladesh five years ago and has also been devoid of an Indian Premier League contract. But he believes that with hard work and consistently, his limited-overs career might blossom again.

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