‘Slow and steady’ Pujara loses the race; father Arvind backs him

Cheteshwar's father Arvind, who has coached the Saurashtra stalwart since childhood feels lack of competitive cricket has led to his slow batting approach.

Cheteshwar Pujara faced the axe ahead of the third Test between India and West Indies. 16 and 46 are not numbers to boast about but certainly not as bad to get the boot in favour of Rohit Sharma, a man well-known for not making use of his Test opportunities. While it is important to score at a steady rate in Test cricket too but Pujara losing out the race to accommodate Rohit has irked many Indian fans.

Cheteshwar’s father Arvind, who has coached the Saurashtra stalwart since childhood feels lack of competitive cricket has led to his slow batting approach. In an interview with Times of India, the senior Pujara said, “Since he doesn’t play in the other formats, he doesn’t get enough competitive match practice, which no amount of batting at the nets can replace. It makes him adopt a `safety first approach.’ He wasn’t struggling in either of his innings, or getting beaten often. It’s just that he was batting slowly.” ALSO READ: Twitterati express disappointment as India drop Cheteshwar Pujara for Rohit Sharma in the St Lucia Test

However, Arvind dismissed notions of ‘crisis of confidence’ as he added, “He has seen tougher things, his mother’s death and career threatening injuries. This is just a setback.”

Earlier, Arvind had also expressed his concerns over captain Virat Kohli’s logic ‘retiring-out’ batsmen.

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