“Absolutely. It all comes with experience. When I was playing the T20 format in the past, I had a little bit of a worry that what if my Test cricket gets spoiled? Then there will be some technical error once the IPL gets over. But now I am over that. What I realised over a period of time is my natural game, my strengths, will never go away.”
Pujara was grateful to Rahul Dravid for his recommendation. The unique Wall of India instructed Pujara that his pure recreation and core won’t change even when he tried to experiment enjoying totally different pictures in T20 cricket.
“This advice I got from Rahul bhai long ago, but I would still like to mention it. He told me that your natural game will not change although you try playing different shots. I started playing cricket at an early age. I made my first-class debut in 2005-06. So it is almost 15 years now where I’ve played this game. So if I am playing the T20 format now, when I prepare for a Test series I won’t forget Test cricket. Adapting to T20 format and moving into Test cricket again won’t be an issue, for sure.”
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Pujara nonetheless believed that if a batsman can deal with the crimson cherry then enjoying the white ball was like a jog within the park.
“I definitely think so, especially the way the white ball travels. It is just about making the mental change. I feel that mentally if you are ready to make some adjustments, you don’t need to take a lot of pressure. In Test cricket there is a lot of pressure, there is a price on your wicket. But in the shorter format you just need to express yourself and play all the shots you can.”
On his ideas on 20-over cricket turning into extra strategic and position particular, Pujara confused on the necessity for being versatile within the format.
“I am very flexible now. And one has to be in this format. There was a time where players used to choose their role, but now players have changed, their roles have changed, and the most successful are the ones who are very flexible in the way they do things.”
Strike Rate is essentially the most important attribute for a batsman in T20 cricket and Pujara has had issues along with his scoring fee even in Test cricket. When requested how he’ll deal with this drawback the batsman replied that he’ll play correct cricketing pictures and depend on his timing.
“The stability, the cricketing sense – to read the bowler, to understand the bowler, to understand the situation. It is something I have learned by playing the Test format, and even shorter formats. I have played limited-overs cricket in domestic cricket [in India] as well in county cricket. Just by playing those matches you realise what you can do in a particular situation. So that is something which can be helpful, because you need to understand what a bowler is trying to do, how the pitch is behaving, and what the shots are that you can play on a particular pitch.”
“And when it comes to strike rate, yes, I agree that I’m not a power-hitter. But at the same time, you learn from players like Virat and Rohit, they are not purely power-hitters, but one of the best timers of the ball I have seen in the shorter formats,” added Pujara.
Pujara additional said that above every part else it’s a participant’s cricketing sense that’s his essential weapon.
“You learn from players like Kane Williamson. Even Steven Smith. All of them score runs by just playing cricketing shots, and at the same time they will be innovative. I also have that mindset, that if I want to be successful, I also need to be innovative, but at the same time you can still score runs by playing cricket shots. You need to get better at generating power, I won’t deny that, but ultimately cricketing sense is what I feel will be your main strength.”
