Published: Aug 22, 2017, 09:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 22, 2017, 09:58 AM (IST)
With India set to tour England in 2018, county cricket has caught attention of the Team India players. It was Cheteshwar Pujara who began the county trend by joining Nottinghamshire ahead of the County Championship. Recently, Ravichandran Ashwin joined Worcestershire for the last leg of the Championship. If reports are to be believed, Ravindra Jadeja will also be making his debut in county cricket. The teams are also in search of a batsman for their side, and have Virat Kohli in their mind. The skipper had earlier expressed to play county ahead of the 2018 England tour. Pujara, who was the standout performer in the Sri Lanka Test series with 309 runs, emphasised on importance of county cricket to grow as a cricketer and credited team effort for achieving new heights in Test cricket.
Speaking to Times of India (TOI) in length about county cricket, Pujara recollected how the county stint has shaped him as a player, “Playing county cricket is about being in that environment and batting on those wickets which seam and have a bit of bounce. It’s all about getting the experience and nothing related to your technique. Once you reach a certain point (in your career), your technique is very much decided and all you need to do is fine-tune it.” Pujara feels Ashwin or any other player would be benefitted by county cricket experience, “If you start playing county cricket, you start having an idea about how to perform in those conditions. I believe county cricket helps you grow as a cricketer. I feel if you want to play Test cricket and aim to do well in different venues, county cricket is the way to go.”
As India swept Sri Lanka 3-0 in the recent Test series, Pujara feels the credit goes to the unit who have contributed to the success, “If you look at our batting, each one has stood up and made themselves counted. Also, this Indian team’s bench strength is quite strong. Whoever has come into the XI has gone on to make a contribution. Players such as Kuldeep Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Karun Nair and even Abhinav Mukund have all performed when given opportunities. Even our fast bowers Umesh and Shami have been bowling well.”
In the end, even Pujara could not stop heaping praises on new coach Ravi Shastri, “Ravi bhai is someone who gives players enough freedom and at the same time knows what is needed for the players to be in the best possible shape ahead of any game. He makes players feel welcome and players understand their roles in the side.”
