IPL 2021: Cheteshwar Pujara smacks sixes, takes CSK bowlers to the cleaners in nets

Cheteshwar Pujara will definitely garner a lot of attention in the forthcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The India Test batting star is returning to the tournament after bagging an IPL contract for the first time since 2014. Till 2014, he plied his trade for Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Punjab Kings.

Since being released by Punjab Kings after IPL 2014, Pujara kept registering himself in the auction but could not get a contract. He finally got one last month when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured his services at his base price of INR 50 lakh. And it looks like Pujara is leaving no stone unturned to justify CSK’s faith in him.

The right-handed batsman was recently seen taking his CSK teammates to the cleaners while batting in the nets. In a video posted on Twitter by a user, the 33-year-old is seen playing the big shots with ease. At the start of the video, Pujara hit Deepak Chahar over deep mid-wicket before slog sweeping leg-spinner Karn Sharma through the onside.

Pujara was also seen charging down the track to lift the ball over the long-on boundary and flicking one off his pads off another pacer. Towards the end, he was seen taking the aerial route over the extra-cover region.

Here is a clip of Cheteshwar Pujara’s net session:

One of India’s most important Test players, Pujara is yet to prove himself in T20s. In 30 IPL games so far, he has managed to score only 390 runs at an average of less than 21 and a strike-rate of 99.74. Pujara, however, is definitely capable of improving his T20 record. In 2019, he had scored his maiden T20 hundred for Saurashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and would be eyeing a similar performance in IPL 2021.

CSK eye strong comeback

Just like Cheteshwar Pujara, his team CSK will be also looking to bounce back this year after a disastrous campaign in IPL 2020. The MS Dhoni-led side had failed to make it to the playoffs last year for the first time in their history. With just six wins from 14 league games, CSK had finished at the seventh spot in the eight-team competition.