"His inputs will be invaluable as far as the batting unit is concerned" - Sunil Gavaskar picks Cheteshwar Pujara as the key for WTC final
Former India player Sunil Gavaskar felt that veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara could play a key role for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at the Oval on June 7.
Pujara has been playing for Sussex at the County Championship Division Two in England, scoring 545 runs in six games at an average of 68.12, including three centuries.
Pujara has also been captaining the side which features Australian star Steve Smith, who has shown decent form with an average of 40.66 in three games.
In an exclusive interview with Star Sports, Gavaskar believed that Pujara playing on England pitches and watching Smith from close quarters could be invaluable to Team India in the WTC final.
"The fact that he is been around will mean that he will have also seen how the pitch has been behaving at The Oval. He might not have played at The Oval, he might be in Sussex not too far away from London but he will have kept an eye on what is happening and his inputs will be invaluable as far as the batting unit is concerned or even as far as the captaincy is concerned," he said.
"He will have the captains here as far as the Oval pitch is concerned and don’t forget he has also captaining the team, so he definitely will have worked out quite a few strategies seeing that Steve Smith, the Australian is his teammate at the moment," he added.
Pujara has often been a thorn in the Australian side, playing vital roles in India's series victories down under in 2018/19 and 2020/21. Overall, the 35-year-old boasts a stellar record against the Aussies, scoring over 2000 runs at an average of 50.82 with five centuries in 24 Tests.
Although Pujara's numbers in English conditions pale in comparison to his overall numbers, his recent success for Sussex and his vast experience of playing in these conditions could prove pivotal for India to overhaul the Australians in the final.
"They’ll need to play in England as late as possible to allow for the swing to do its bit" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar also suggested the technical changes the Indian batters must make while shifting from T20 cricket to Test Cricket in English conditions ahead of the WTC final.
Several players in the Indian squad for the WTC final against Australia have been playing in the IPL for the past two months and must make the adjustment to Test cricket against the moving ball swiftly.
Speaking to Star Sports, Gavaskar provided his suggestions for the Indian bowlers and batters to combat the English conditions. He said:
"I think they are going to look at their bat speed. Coming from T20 where the bat speed is very fast to test cricket where the bat speeds got to be a lot more control, that is something they’ll need to do. They’ll need to play in England as late as possible to allow for the swing to do it’s bit, not to reach out for the ball which often a lot of people make the mistake having played on good pitches."
He added:
"Wherever you play on good pitches, you tend to play through the line, not necessarily half volleys, but in England those deliveries can move just that little bit. So, I think those are the things that as a batter you need to watch out for. As a bowling unit also you’ll need to bowl a much fuller length for your new ball, for the bowlers to be able to get the movement in the air as well as after pitching.”
Gavaskar also highlighted the challenges that India could face in England by saying:
"I think the English conditions are challenging because firstly we are used to play with the sun on our backs. When you are playing in England, often you are playing in conditions where there is no sun, it’s a little overcast, the weather is a little bit cooler, so you sometimes wear a jumper. That’s something that you know, the Indian player, West Indian players and Sri Lankan players are not really used to so that can be just a little bit of a dampener, little sort of light but you just feel little bit encumbered by that."
He concluded:
"So, that is one thing and because in these conditions the ball tends to swing in the air not just after pitching which doesn’t happen in India and therefore the swing in the air is what sometimes can take you some time to get used to and which is a reason people generally when you are going overseas suggest that you should may be play two or three warm-up matches, which will give you a better idea of what to get when you are playing in a test match.”
India will play in their second consecutive WTC final after losing to New Zealand by eight wickets at Southampton in 2021. They will look to avenge that defeat and win their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy they won in England in 2013.