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| Edited By: G Krishnan |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 19, 2017, 04:36 AM IST
Having scored a record 1,316 runs in the home Test season that concluded in March end, India’s Test No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara is getting ready for his third season in English county cricket when he plays red ball cricket for Nottinghamshire later this month. In this exclusive chat, Pujara tells G Krishnan how tired he was after the Test season and how the English county stint will help him in his career. Excerpts...
After the Dharamsala Test, I took a break for a couple of weeks and then started training.
They were looking for an overseas player as James Pattinson is part of the Champions Trophy squad for Australia. This was the right time for me to go and play cricket as, personally for me, there is no cricket as I am not part of IPL. After IPL, we don’t have any red ball cricket in India for a while. As of now, I felt that I wanted utilise the time and it is always important to play matches, whether it is first-class or whatever. If you want to improve as a cricketer, you need to play competitive cricket and English county cricket is always challenging. They have decent bowlers. If you go out and play in county cricket, you always improve as a cricketer. I have always enjoyed playing there because the culture and the cricketing atmosphere are such that they always play cricket in the spirit of the game, they have followers who travel with the team. I have the experience of playing for Derbyshire (2014) and Yorkshire (2015), and I can say I always had a good time playing there, and always love to play there.
As of now, four matches for sure (see box), and there is a possibility that I will play two more matches also. That depends on how things progress.
Personally, it is not just about being in touch with the game. It is also about playing in different conditions, playing different bowlers, playing in different climate. Every time, every venue, is a different experience. In some venues, the wicket behaves in different manner. Once the sun is out, the wicket becomes flat. Even in a day, you will see the wicket behaving in different manners. That is the experience I have gained. The culture is also very good. They love their game. There are hardcore followers in county cricket. They always travel with the team. When I was playing for Yorkshire, there were many Yorkshire followers for away games. There is a different fan following. Personally, playing on such wickets, most of the times they are challenging for the batsmen.
Personally, I have improved as a batsman. I have always gained confidence playing in such conditions. Ultimately, I improved as a player. I happened to play with Jonathan Bairstow for Yorkshire. He batted really well that season and got so many runs and returned to the England est team. The way he was batting, it was a treat to watch. Although my technique may not be similar to him, it was a treat to watch, the way he was timing the ball was different. His game plan was different.
At times, you learn from watching such players. We had a very good bowling line-up. We had Tim Bresnan, Ryan Sidebottom. When I was playing for Yorkshire, I was watching different bowlers. Sometimes, you face different overseas bowlers. In one of the games, I faced Fidel Edwards from the West Indies. I got 133* in that game (vs Hampshire). I once faced Vernon Philander from South Africa (Yorkshire vs Nottinghamshire in 2015). When you face such bowlers, you learn different things, how they are bowling in different conditions. For example, Philander in South African conditions is more of bowling in one channel. Whereas, in England, he will be looking for wickets as the swing there is more. It is a different experience, altogether.
I will definitely gain from the experience. But England tour is far away. I don’t think this experience will help me perform better. But I will still have some experience, no doubt about it. When we go for a series after a year, we don’t know how the pitch will behave, the bowlers will be different. Can’t say for sure my performance in county will help. It might help, it might not. It is too far ahead to think about. I will still learn something. I always believe that if you play in different conditions, it will teach you something. Some lessons you learn from first-class cricket will help at the international level. I have realised that playing in Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy.
They allow one overseas player. That makes a huge difference. I approach games in India and in England very seriously because I am someone who has come up playing Ranji Trophy and grown as a cricketer from Ranji Trophy. For me, Ranji Trophy is as important as a county game. In county cricket, the fast bowlers are better whereas in India, you get better spinners. That is the main difference. Even conditions in India, most of the pitches are turning tracks. In county cricket, most of the wickets help fast bowlers. They are quite professional about what they do, their set up is very good, more like an IPL franchise.
It is difficult for me in India to walk in the street or to buy groceries, or go to a shopping mall. I can still go to a shopping mall in metro cities in India but not in Rajkot. In England, I can do such things, I can drive around, England is a beautiful country to drive around, try to explore different places when I can. Life becomes very easy there. There is no other commitment apart from cricket. When abroad, it is either cricket or spending time with family.
I was tired but at the same time, I was very happy that India had done really well. Especially the last series (against Australia). It was definitely one of the toughest Test series I was part of. We had won that (2-1). I was very happy for that victory. I was in a different mood altogether, the reason being that when you work hard and come back hard in such a series, it was remarkable.
Yes, I was tired physically and mentally but I was really happy with the way things went both personally and for the team, and the way we played throughout the season.
What’s is also satisfying is that I have been working hard on my fitness and fielding, which have helped me see through this season. I took many catches (11 in 16 Tests since the West Indies last year) moving well on the field. Because of my fitness, I could play the entire season. I have again started working on my fitness to get better for the next season.
I would say 92 (second innings) in Bengaluru (vs Australia) was one of the best knocks throughout the season because of the position the team was in. They had won the first Test in Pune. Even in the first innings in Bengaluru, they were on top. It was a series-defining knock for me. Many told me it was better than scoring a double hundred. We had to win that Test. If we had lost the Test, my double hundred (202) at Ranchi was useless. The 92 was the best knock of the season.
Apart from that, I loved many other knocks. One such was the 101* in the second innings at Indore against New Zealand in Indore. Then I got a hundred in Rajkot – 124 (vs England). Emotionally, it was very good. It was personal to me scoring a hundred in Rajkot, my hometown and in its first Test. Also, I got a double hundred, which is always a great feeling. I am known to score big hundreds and it was satisfying to get one in Tests this season.
On such pitches, I have not even played first-class games apart from Rajkot. It is difficult to predict how the wicket would behave. In Vizag, I have played one-day games but don’t remember playing a four-day match. At the same time, having played so many matches in India, you get to know that the pitches would behave similarly. Sometimes, I look at the wicket, I get to know how it behaves having played all over India. I can judge the wicket early and get to know ‘these are the chances’ and ‘this is what will happen’. I make my game plan accordingly.
It was much needed. It was a pretty long season, especially when you play Test matches, it is always difficult, especially when you play Test cricket. You need a break to refresh.
I completely switch off from cricket during the break. I don’t look at my kit bag. I don’t even look at any match. I don’t go to the ground. Even if I do, it may for an evening jog or a morning walk, that too once a week or so. I try and make sure that I spend enough time with my family. We went on a holiday for a few days. I tried to spend time with my friends. I don’t think about cricket during that time. After that, I gradually started training. Initially, it was fitness and slowly moved into my skill work. At the moment, I am practicing full fledged.
I don’t think so. Virat is someone who is always hungry for runs. Don’t think it is because of the long season. He did not play initially, so he got some break. It is difficult for me to judge by seeing the results. I have not been watching IPL games and don’t know what was wrong. Unless I have seen on TV, it will be unfair for me to comment. Just looking at the scorecard, you cannot comment on something.
Pujara’s confirmed appearances for Notts:
vs Glamorgan May19-22
vs Gloucestershire, May 26-29
vs Derbyshire June 2-5
vs Gloucestershire, June 9-12
