Exclusive Interview: Cheteshwar Pujara

For a player who is continuously tipped to be ‘the great’ Rahul Dravid‘s successor, results that exceed expectations will be hard to come by. It is generally easy to be spotted in the selection fraternity if one scores runs in copious amounts in the beginning of his career, but the follow up part to that is what determines the difference between a good player and a class player. Cheteshwar Pujara is one such player who came into the spotlight with his performances at the U-19 World Cup in 2006, and was immediately destined to score heavily in the domestic circuit.

Pujara scored an unbeaten 52 in his comeback match

He didn’t disappoint and started producing big knocks in the Ranji format with his home team Saurashtra. The tour to England as a skipper for the India ‘A’ team further certified his credentials, and he returned home again as the top run getter in seamer friendly conditions. Three successive triple centuries within a span of three weeks in domestic cricket back home did his reputation no harm, and by the end of 2010 he had been handed his first test cap for India against Australia. A match winning 72 in his second innings made sure that he wouldn’t waiver off the flashlight. He was then drafted into the team for the test series against South Africa and even though he wasn’t phenomenal, he managed to do his job and waive off the likes of Steyn and Morkel under bowler friendly conditions. Two horrifying injuries to his left knee in the second and fourth season of the IPL, meant that he was automatically sidelined from the Indian line up.

In spite of that setback; being the strong character that he is, Pujara managed to cover up lost ground and recently figured in his first domestic first class match against Karnataka after a hiatus of six months.

Pujara is habituated to bat his team out of troubles by now

SportsKeeda’s journalist, Soham Sarkhel caught up with him for a small tete-a-tete during his comeback match at the Chinnaswamy stadium against Karnataka. Here are some of the excerpts from it:

Soham: How are you feeling in your left knee? Is it still troubling you?

Pujara: Oh, it’s completely fine. Actually I am feeling fitter than ever before. I underwent training at the National Cricket Academy here in Bangalore, and I don’t have any problem whatsoever with my left knee at the moment. I feel perfectly fit.

Soham: Have the senior members in the side spoken to you during your injury phase? Any words of motivation?

Pujara: Yes, I was recuperating at the National Cricket Academy at Bangalore, and a lot of senior members from the team come regularly to practice here. They had their talks with me, but it was more generalistic rather than being a totally cricket oriented one. They told me to keep working hard and again as I said, instead of discussing cricket they were conversing on general terms with me.

Soham: Do you think you should have made the cut to the Australian tour, considering you have already played the Aussies before?

Pujara: To be very frank I was disappointed when I was not selected for the Australian tour. I was expecting to be picked in the squad , but then I think it was fair on the part of the selectors to not select a player who hasn’t played cricket for a long time. On hindsight, it allows me to comeback to Ranji cricket and I hope I can score runs for my team. As far as selection is concerned I don’t think much about it, if I keep scoring runs selection will happen on its own.

Soham: How hard is it for you to keep motivating yourself? Do Ranji matches still give you the kicks?

His repertoire of attacking strokes has now increased a lot

Pujara: Yes it does. I hardly have to motivate myself when I am playing cricket. Cricket is my passion. It’s the game which has given a lot to me. If you notice, instead of only playing Ranji games I have played for a local club team of IOC. I have nothing to gain from it but I still play because I love the game so much. So, motivation was never a question for me because it’s the game that I love so much.

Soham: People seem to categorise you as a test match player. However if one has a look at your List A record, you average almost 54 in 50 innings. Why is it that so? Do you see yourself fitting into the ODI squad?

Pujara: I am happy that people categorise me as a test player but then as you pointed out I have also been scoring heavily in the one day format and I would most definitely likely to feature in the Indian ODI squad. Maybe it will take time but in today’s times you have to be very flexible while playing One day internationals. I can’t expect a position reserved just for me. I will have to change my position according to the needs of the team management and the situation, so I can’t say specifically that I will fit into a certain player’s position in ODI’s. But yes I am definitely looking forward to play one day internationals for India and not just test matches.

Soham: Has the break done any good to you? Any sort of change in your batting style or intent that you want to try out in the Ranji games?

Pujara: Yeah most definitely, this break has done a great lot to me. I have got to spend some quality time with my family and friends. I have also been able to stay out of the game and re focus myself for the coming season. In terms of batting style I haven’t changed much but yes, I have started being more positive about the game. During the break I had also practiced a lot against the short ball stuff so that I can prepare in a better way. I have also practiced playing lofted shots a lot and I think all of these will hold me in good stead in the future.

Pujara will again have to start from point zero

Soham: What do you think about the condition of pitches in India? Can we hope for better pitches for bowlers in the future?

Pujara: Yeah well I can’t deny the fact that pitches in India are tailor made for batting. Some of them are absolutely batting delights, where nothing happens even after the end of four days. But nowadays I think the trend is changing a bit. In the metro cities, stadiums like the Wankhede are experimenting – with pitches which provide an equal battle between the bowlers – and the batsmen and that’s very exciting to see. If you have a look at the pitch here also (Chinnaswamy Stadium) there is something in there for the seamers, there are grass patches on the pitch, and I think as time goes by we will see more such kind of pitches.

Soham: What would you say is the difference between Pujara of 2009 and Pujara of 2011?

Pujara: Well I think I have become a very matured player in these last two years. I have gone through injuries and have come back stronger. Also I think I have become a much more confident player. On the personal front also my father was in a serious condition and had to go through his by-pass surgery. So, all in all it was a tough time frame for me but I think I have come back more matured than before.

Soham: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Pujara: Ideally talking, I want to feature in all the formats of the game, be it Tests, ODI’s or T20′s for India. My final dream is to turn up and play well for India in whatever opportunities I get. So in the next five years I hope that I am one of the top contributors to the Indian cricket team.

Photographs: Soham Sarkhel (Sportskeeda)