Try to play Tests as all-format batters, Pujara’s sage advice to newcomers

The accolades have not stopped coming Cheteshwar Pujara’s way, ever since the rock of the Indian middle order — for more than a decade — signed off from international cricket little over a week ago.

While the ‘Wall 2.0’ had commanded a great deal of respect from some of his fiercest rivals on the pitch, including the likes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, what surprised ‘Pujji’ was the formal appreciation post from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 August, Sunday.

‘’In an age dominated by the shorter formats of cricket, you were a reminder of the beauty of the longer format of the game,’’ Modi said in a signed letter that was shared by the cricketer on his social media handle.

“It was a great honour that he took time out to send me such a note,” the affable cricketer said — though there is a feeling that someone like Pujara ought to have been given a chance to sign off with a farewell Test.

But then, Pujara is in good company — he is the latest in the queue after Ravi Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma this year to miss out on signing off with a flourish.

The writing has been on the wall for the cricketer and gentleman from Saurashtra for a while, as he has been wielding the megaphone as a TV pundit during the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy — and Pujara admitted it would certainly be one of the options for him when he begins his second innings.

“Frankly, the last week went off in a haze and I haven’t had a chance to think about the future. While I enjoyed the commentary role, I would love to give back something to Indian cricket in whichever capacity possible,” Pujara told National Herald in an exclusive interview.   

An aggregate of 7,195 runs from 103 Tests, including 19 centuries — nine of them hit abroad — is impressive; but it fails to reflect the calm assurance and character that Pujara brought to the Indian middle order. It prompted even someone of Virat Kohli’s stature to say that Pujara’s presence at No.3 invariably made the job easier for him at No.4.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain too offered an interesting take on the issue: “In our era, it was always the best batter in the team who came in at No.3, like Viv Richards or Ricky Ponting. Pujara, for his part, had taken over from one of the all-time greats in Rahul Dravid and was phenomenal as an old-school No.3,” Nasser told Sky Sports.

With the benefit of hindsight, it all looks good — but one piece of advice from Pujara to the new generation of players has been quite intriguing.

He advised them to become all-format players.

Asked if this reflects any tinge of regret in the way Pujara was himself typecast throughout his career, he responded: “It was a pragmatic suggestion, as I think the upcoming players should try to become all-format batters. If you look closely, we play about nine Tests in a year and one has to prepare for that harder, by playing in domestic matches to stay in the rhythm, etc. However, in white-ball cricket, there are a lot more games available — be it the Vijay Hazare Trophy or the Syed Mushtaq Ali — while performance in the IPL gives huge leverage.”

The names of at least two specific batters came up in this conversation: Abhimanyu Eshwaran and Sarfaraz Khan, whose prolific form in domestic red-ball cricket failed to give them the breaks in the international arena.

The case of Abhimanyu Eshwaran, in particular, has been a curious one. The 29-year-old from Bengal has been making the squad for the last three years — but also consistently failed to make the playing XI, with as many as 15 players having made their Test debuts ahead of him.

Commenting on the Eashwaran–Khan ordeals, Pujara harped on the virtue of patience — saying that they just need to keep scoring tons of runs and keep getting better.

“I know they have performed exceedingly well in India, but there is a bit of a question mark as to whether they can perform as well outside India. They need to keep getting better, as the moment you are disappointed, you stop progressing. You see, some players take longer time to get opportunities than others, but I am sure their time will come,” he said.

Finally, how difficult was it psychologically for a proven player like Pujara to motivate himself to continue playing for Saurashtra or in remote county venues for the last two seasons — once he went out of the national reckoning after playing his last Test in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in 2023?

“In the last two years, I told myself that I need to enjoy my cricket — and not bother about getting chances,” Pujara said, seemingly having the same rules for himself as for others.

“There was no pressure on me, but I decided it was the right time to move on and give an opportunity to younger players in Saurashtra,” he signed off.