Image courtesy of: The Indian Express
Pujara’s confidence levels skyrocket whenever he is compared to Dravid
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has admitted that it is always a huge “morale-booster” for him when he is compared to Rahul Dravid as ‘The Wall’ was one of his “childhood idols”.
“It’s a big compliment for me (comparison with Dravid) because someone who has been successful in Indian cricket and someone who has been called ‘The Wall’ of the Indian cricket, if you are compared with that person, it’s a morale-booster for me and increases my confidence,” Pujara told PTI. “He is one of my childhood idols. I try and learn as many things as possible from him. Unfortunately, he has retired now but whenever I had the opportunity to play alongside Dravid, I always enjoyed his company, the way he used to guide me, the way he used to give me tips, it was always motivating for me.”
With his sound technique and textbook strokeplay, it comes as no surprise that Pujara has scored four centuries, which include two double hundreds, and three half-centuries and is averaging 65.55 after 13 Tests.
“You have something in you, that’s why people are comparing me with him,” Pujara said. “It’s a great feeling for me, I mean you have the technique which is similar to Dravid. He is a player who has scored more than 10,000 runs in both the formats.”
Pujara is now hoping to make his ODI debut during India’s upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, which gets underway on July 24.
“I’ll get my chances soon,” he said. “I am working on being a good ODI and T20 player. I started off well in the Test cricket and if I continue the way I am playing Tests, I’ll get my chances in the ODI format too. I just need to wait for my opportunity and I know the time will soon come.”
Speaking about the South African tour at the end of the year, Pujara admitted that playing three Tests and seven ODIs against the Proteas will be one of the toughest series India will have played all year.
“I have played in South Africa in 2010, so I have the exposure of playing there,” he added. “I know what to expect from the Proteas team and wickets. I have some plans for it and will prepare according to it. The team will also have some plans to counter the conditions there. When Gary Kirsten was our coach, we had a decent South Africa tour where we tied the Test series. I hope we will be able to win the series this time.”
The 25-year-old was also quick to announce his support for the newly introduced World Test Championship.
“I am happy with the development because Test format is the ultimate format of the game,” he said. “That’s the format from where cricket started. It’s a good initiative by the ICC and all the cricketers will be happy to play the Test championship. I hope India will be able to win the inaugural edition.”
Pujara was also asked about the impact of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match-fixing scandal on Indian cricket, and said: “It was disappointing for all the cricketers. I don’t know whether it was done or not but I believe all other cricketers will be questioned because of [a] few individuals.”
Pujara further admitted that having veteran players like Sachin Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the dressing room always inspired him to show off his best.
He also noted that the senior players were always willing to help youngsters with their confidence levels and techniques.
“I got to learn many things from Sachin paaji,” Pujara said. “Whenever I make a mistake, he always comes to me and tells me that this is the mistake you are making and this is the way you should play. He will always come to me and gives me suggestions. It’s always inspiring and I am honoured that I can share the dressing room with him.
“Playing under the captaincy of Dhoni is a great feeling for all the youngsters. India has produced many great captains and he is one of those captains. All the team members enjoy his company.”