Former Indian Test opening batter Aakash Chopra feels India is missing the services of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara after their 113-run loss against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Saturday. With this loss, India lost their first Test series against the Kiwis while playing at home.
Meanwhile, Pujara is well known for his solid game and has a great defensive technique. However, the young generation of Indian batters is known to bat aggressively and feel that the attack is the best form of defense.
Pujara, who last played for India in the WTC Final against Australia in 2023, has scored 7195 runs in 103 Test matches at an average of 43.61.
“Are we missing Pujara? It’s a big question actually. As a player, you might say that he would score these many runs and others would also score as many runs, so are you missing him that much? Maybe not, because at some stage you have to move beyond everyone. So you left Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in such a scenario,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“You got Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant started playing at No. 5. So things changed a lot. Change is the rule of nature but one thing is definitely missing. No one in this team is able to do what Cheteshwar Pujara used to do. Everyone plays the same brand of cricket, that they would attack and play aggressive cricket, and have nothing to do with a draw as they play like this only. That does not work,” Chopra added.
Chopra reckons India is certainly missing Pujara’s grit in the middle. The renowned commentator wants the Indian batters to put their head down and trust their defense.
“It will happen repeatedly in Test cricket that you will be asked to play a session where a wicket shouldn’t fall. You need to keep your head down and defend. There is a battle of attrition at times. Cheteshwar Pujara’s defensive cricket, that brand of cricket which is non-glamorous, hard-working, staying at the wicket from morning to evening, we are missing that brand of cricket, and we are repeatedly seeing the result of that in collapses,” he said.
“You need a guy to stand there to stop collapses even if the scoreboard moves or not. He keeps delaying the game. The bowlers get tired and the ball gets old and soft, and the others score runs. India are of course missing that game style of Pujara,” Chopra explained.
Pujara recently scored a double century in the Ranji trophy clash against Chhattisgarh but the match ended in a draw. However, Pujara has not been picked for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
The third and final Test match between India and New Zealand will be played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai from November 1 onwards.
