Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
Cheteshwar Pujara is an interesting topic of conversation, isn’t he?
His Test career has been nothing but a surprise to me, and I’m sure many others. I view Pujara as a player boasting seemingly endless levels of patience and temperament, coupled with good technique. Australia found this out the hard way last year, forced to toil against him for 672 minutes in Ranchi.
However, Pujara is a unique case. His figures away from home do not do justice to his ability. His Test average of 50.34 is one any batsman would be proud of, but his away average of 35 is underwhelming. Yes, he has copped some tough decisions at times, but for a player of his ability, the numbers between home and away are just too far apart.
He has played 34 of his 58 Test at home (58.62%), but the percentage of runs in India as a proportion of his total is much higher (68.89%). Further, his away average of 35 is boosted by runs in Sri Lanka (I think I could score OK against them, too), so when you disregard Asia completely, Pujara’s figures make for sorry reading.
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| Pujara has struggled outside Asia |
To make matters more concerning, Pujara has had a nightmare county stint with Yorkshire. It’s incredible when a prolific Test batsman is cause for fans being fed up, asking why he was picked in the first place. 155 runs in 11 innings at 14 is nowhere near the kind of preparation you want for a Test series in England. In the last couple of weeks, he has dismissed for a duck twice by Dale Steyn.
So, what do India do with Pujara and how do they get the best out of him? Will he end his Test career as a player considered not very useful away from Asia?
In this piece, I will highlight a couple of reasons as to why I think Cheteshwar Pujara struggles away from home, and how he could prosper in the upcoming England series.
Technical issues for Cheteshwar Pujara?
Does Cheteshwar Pujara approach an away Test differently to a home Test?
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| Pujara seemed to have mental blocks in South Africa |
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I think these two factors are absolutely paramount for Pujara to get right in the England series.
I believe India will pick him for the first Test, simply because of the potential he brings, and how well he can hold an innings together. If Pujara is on song, others such as Virat Kohli will be enabled to play their own game, and India will be much better off for it.
We’ll see what comes of this.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions! In the meantime, check out my 4 keys to India having a successful tour of England.
Thanks for reading.
