I don't know what was the actual message sent. If the message was to look to play over mid-on, the player who is inside knows the situation and conditions the best and what the ball is doing.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the only glimmer of hope after India's defeat against Australia in the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. During Pujara's resilient innings of 59 runs, a video went viral from the second day where Indian captain Rohit Sharma could be seen instructing Ishan Kishan to pass on a message to Pujara to take the fight to the Aussie bowlers and go for some big hits instead of playing defensively.
It looked like Ishan Kishan delivered the message as Pujara smacked Nathan Lyon for a six over mid-wicket which brought a wide smile to Rohit Sharma’s face, however, former Indian legendary bowler Harbhajan Singh was not pleased with the captain's intervention in the middle of Pujara's innings, nor with his demands for big shots from Pujara.
“I don't know what was the actual message sent. If the message was to look to play over mid-on, the player who is inside knows the situation and conditions the best and what the ball is doing. Let him play, let him understand what needs to be done in that situation. No one can judge better than him how easy or difficult it is to hit over mid-on. Watching from the outside, we feel that he can hit above mid-on, but sometimes it does not happen," Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
Later, discussing Pujara, Harbhajan remarked that he is a selfless player who puts his team first. If asked to do something for the benefit of the team, he would do it without hesitation.
“An atmosphere has been created that Pujara cannot hit over the top. I think if he wants to do that, he can do it better than a lot of the players. A Test cricketer can become a good T20 player but a T20 player can never become a good Test player. So Pujara's shot did not surprise me," he further added.
With their triumphant victory, the Australians have secured their spot in the World Test Championship Final, slated for June. India, however, have much to ponder before the fourth Test in Ahmedabad, and will be desperate to guarantee their own qualification for the Final, rather than relying on other teams' results.
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