‘I am off social media to stay focused’ – Will Pucovski before Test series against India

Australia’s Will Pucovski has deactivated his social media accounts to stay away from the talks and speculations surrounding his place in the national team for the Test series against India. The 22-year-old right-hander has been in jaw-dropping form of late, scoring back to back double centuries for Victoria in the 2019-20 edition of the Sheffield Shield.

On the back of his knocks, the national selectors picked him for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Moreover, with Joe Burns having a disastrous first-class campaign, Pucovski is being speculated to be David Warner’s opening partner for the four-match Test series. For the time being Pucovski doesn’t want the commotion around him to affect him mentally.

My batting’s in a really good place: Will Pucovski

“It’s a bit of a media build-up, to be honest, the big bat-off thing. All I can really control is how I go about it in my preparation and then obviously in the game, so I feel like my batting’s in a really good place. I’m off a lot of social media, so that makes it a lot easier.

“You can’t get tagged on Twitter and stuff if you don’t have the app, so that’s been a pretty easy one for me,” Pucovski was quoted as saying to the reporters on Friday, November 13.

Justin Langer, the Australian head coach, lauded Pucovski for his decent run of form. However, he hinted that the Young Turk might have to wait for a bit longer to get his first opportunity.

“He’s been amazing, hasn’t he? That said … we loved the combination of Joe Burns and David Warner. At this point, I’d say that will remain the same,” Langer said on Friday.

Pucovski has also gone through concussion problems after being hit on the head during school football. However, he has managed to recover and is all set for his stint with the Australian team.

“Obviously getting hit in the head a lot is not ideal from a physical or mental perspective,” Pucovski added.

The opening Test gets underway on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval. Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are the hosts for the other three Tests. India’s tour also consists of three ODIs and as many T20Is.