In a candid chat with the Indian team's batting coach Vikram Rathour, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin threw an open challenge to Cheteshwar Pujara
Like last week, Ravichandran Ashwin is back on his YouTube channel with another member of the support staff of the Indian team, this time it's batting coach Vikram Rathour. Since, it's about batting, Ashwin couldn't hold himself back from talking about a batsman, who he claimed that pulling the leg of that person is one of his favourite passtimes, Cheteshwar Pujara.
Ashwin was of view that the way Pujara played spinners, especially Nathan Lyon in the recent series, he made him look unplayable.
When Rathour said that Ashwin has some problem with Pujara, he replied saying, "My problem with Puji is different, it's a personal agenda. Because everytime an opponent, a counterpart like a Nathan Lyon is bowling, Puji makes it so heart throbbing for me. Everytime the ball goes in the air (off the pad)... I'm like nobody plays like this man, you're making him look unplayable. Eventually everybody will think I'm not able to make the other batsmen bat like this. Any thoughts on this? Does he make Lyon look unplayable?"
To which Rathour replied saying, "He doesn't, I think he handles Lyon really well. The numbers show that, he's one guy who has batted really well against him and scored runs. He's averaging some 50+ against him, so he has done well against him. That's his way of playing and we've had these discussions with him, where he keeps giving reasons why he's doing certain things, which are extremely funny at times."
Ashwin then confidently reverted saying that Pujara has got out against him every time, when he has bowled to him and asked if any one will witness Pujara going over the top to an off-spinner.
Then, he followed his claim with an open challenge for India's No 3 in Tests, "If he goes over the top against Moeen Ali or any other spinner in this England series, I will take half my moustache out and come and play the game. This is an open challenge! ( he laughed)."
After which, Rathour was a little skeptical if Pujara will take up the same. "I don't think he will take it up (laughs). He has a great reason for that. I've had this conversation with him - when everybody is up, why don't you play one shot in the air so that you can push the fielder behind and get easy singles. He has a great reason, he says if I do that and they push the fielder back, I'll get only one run. Now when they have all the fielders up, if I can keep playing the ball through the gap, I can keep getting twos and threes."
And, Ashwin later admitted that he was just joking and pulling Pujara's leg is his favourite hobbies.
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