Ready to bat at any position: Cheteshwar Pujara
India's Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara says his stint with the English county side Yorkshire has helped him rectify the flaws in his batting and is ready to bat at any position when the Indian team square off with Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Fatullah from Wednesday.
"As a batsman I always believe you have to be flexible enough to adapt to the teams requirement. Obviously I have batted at No.3 for years in the Indian team. Given a choice I would want to bat at No.3 but I am really flexible.” said Pujara.
After the tremendous start of his Test career, he managed to get a few starts in England and Australia but failed to convert those into big ones.
"During the Australia tour, I was batting well but I wasn't converting the starts. I was getting 30s, 40s then I was getting out. So then I thought about it. I had a word with my father who is coaching me and I even had a word with Rahul (Dravid). So I found out what was wrong and worked upon it to get adjusted and played in those challenging conditions in Yorkshire," says the 27-year-old Saurashtra player.
Yorkshire stint has helped enhance my game: Pujara
Asked about his recent county stint, he says, " I really enjoyed playing for Yorkshire. The weather was cold and wickets were challenging. I had learnt a lot many things playing on such challenging surfaces and it has helped me enhance my game.
“When I went to Yorkshire I had enough time to adjust and push myself in hostile conditions and then I came back and practiced hard on Indian pitches. So I think I am well prepared for the series.”
Pujara has a great first class cricket record with an average of 56.88, but the late debutant has played only 27 Tests and 5 ODIs for India.