India’s test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara will head to county cricket when the top cricketers will lighten the IPL with their power-hits in April. Pujara is one of those few Indian cricketers to be left out in IPL Auctions 2018.
Pujara will join Yorkshire, which competes in the top tier county cricket in England. This will be his second outing with Yorkshire, having played from them in 2015. He has played for 2 other county teams before- Derbyshire in 2014 and Nottinghamshire in 2017.
Pujara told in an interview with PTI as reported by Times of India “I am looking forward to the county season as we will be playing Test matches in August. I was with Yorkshire in 2015 when we won the County Championship. It’s a fantastic team with good bunch of professionals, which helps me become a better cricketer,”
Pujara says that it will be beneficial for him to play at test venues of India’s tour. Not to forget, India will tour England later this year.
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He is in Delhi as Saurashtra are in the Vijay Hazare trophy quarter finals where they will face Baroda at Feroz Shah Kotla.
“Look, playing at Headingley in early English summer with temperatures around 4 or 6 degrees will test any batsmen’s technique and temperament. Even scoring a 50 is tough. By the time, India tour starts, it will be bit more pleasant,” said Pujara.
“Now playing Division 1 has its advantages. I will be playing against Middlesex (Lord’s), Warwickshire (Birmingham) and Surrey (Oval) in away games, where India will play Test matches. So I will get a fair idea about the pitches and conditions,” Pujara explained further.
Pujara believes that the technique of playing in South Africa and England won’t differ.
“The basics will remain the same but the primary criteria of doing well is respecting conditions. Technically, it’s more or less same.
“I use lighter bats when playing overseas. Also the kind of fight we put in South Africa will augur well for us in England. May be we could have batted a bit better but we were in with a chance in all games,” said Pujara.
Pujara agreed that no top test teams are doing well at away tours.
“England’s performance in Ashes will tell you that all top teams are struggling a fair bit in overseas conditions.”
Pujara who last played an IPL game in 2014, admits that its all because of “Public Perceptions” that he has missed on an IPL contract. Not to forget he is highly regarded as a test specialist.
“Perception I would say has played a major role. If you check my performance in List A (average of 58 plus over 88 games) and T20s (strike rate of 105.18 in 58 games), I still have a lot to offer in shorter formats. I am not at all worried as I know my opportunity would come at some point of time,”
The man from Gujarat will hold a crucial role for India in the England test series and a stint with Yorkshire will be beneficial for Pujara as well as for Team India.
