"I am pretty happy that Cheteshwar Pujara is not around this time"- Josh Hazlewood's honest admission about Australia's nemesis ahead of BGT 2024-25

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood acknowledged being relieved about not bowling to veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Pujara was the star of India's first-ever Test series win in Australia in 2018-19, scoring an incredible 521 runs at an average of 74.42 with three centuries in four matches.

The right-handed batter was at his stubborn best again in the following tour Down Under in 2020-21, scoring 271 runs with three half-centuries in India's 2-1 series win.

Speaking to reporters in the build-up to the opening Test in Perth, Hazlewood was quoted by RevSportz as saying:

"I am pretty happy that Cheteshwar Pujara is not around this time. He's someone who spends a lot of time out there, tires out the bowlers. But the depth in Indian cricket is pretty good and the younger guys have a lot of talent as well."

Furthermore, Hazlewood acknowledged the importance of Virat Kohli's wicket but maintained that India boast other equally effective weapons in their ranks.

"Not only Kohli, but our focus is on all the players. He has found a lot of success in the past and of course will be a crucial wicket. But there are other guys also like a Rishabh Pant or a Jasprit Bumrah who can be equally good with their respective skills," he said.

Like Pujara, Kohli has been a thorn in the Australian side, averaging an outstanding 54.08 in 13 Tests down under.

The champion batter has also scored six Test centuries in Australia and was the first-ever Indian captain to lead his side to a Test series win down under in 2018/19.

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"For that kind of batters, it is important to have Plan B and C if things go south" - Josh Hazlewood on Rishabh Pant

Australia v India: 4th Test: Day 5 - Source: Getty

Josh Hazlewood also spoke about the threat of Australia's other nemesis, Rishabh Pant, and highlighted the importance of having several plans for a dangerous batter like him.

Pant played a massive role in India's back-to-back Test series wins in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21, averaging a remarkable 62.40 in seven matches across the two tours.

"For that kind of batters, it is important to have Plan B and C if things go south. It is important to have different plans apart from top of off. We also have players like Travis Head and Mitch Marsh who can take the game away," Hazlewood said in the same interaction.

With the series tied at 1-1 in the 2020-21 series, Pant scored a brilliant 97 to help India draw the third Test at Sydney before producing a match-winning 89* in the series decider in Brisbane.

Meanwhile, the upcoming five-Test series between India and Australia begins in Perth on Friday, November 22.