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Team India’s fast bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has hailed Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara for his bravery and fighting spirit that helped the country win many battles in the longest format.
Pujara, 37, who represented the nation in 103 Tests scoring 7195 runs with 19 centuries, announced his retirement from all formats via social media on Sunday: “Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field — it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket.”
India’s Cheteshwar Pujara evades a bouncer on Day Five of the fourth Test against Australia at The Gabba in 2021. Pic/Getty Images
Thakur, understandably, began praising Pujara for his gutsy match-winning knock in the 2021 Gabba Test against Australia at Brisbane. “It’s never easy to bat in the fourth innings and especially in Australian conditions. The cracks get bigger and wider, and the pace of the pitch also increases on most occasions. I remember in that match [Gabba Test] also, the pace of the pitch had increased a lot and the bounce was uneven too. So many times, Cheteshwar got hit on his hand, on his ribs, on his shoulder and even on his helmet. That 50 [56, while facing 211 balls and playing for 314 minutes] of his was very, very, very crucial for the team,” Thakur told mid-day on Sunday.
“On the scorecard, it’s just a 50, but that was equivalent to a century, because given the amount of time he spent at the crease and the way he helped see off a tough situation for the team was extremely important at that juncture of the game. Only an experienced campaigner like Pujara could do that. That knock was testimony of the kind of player he is,” added Thakur, who also fared well in that Gabba Test, claiming a match haul of seven wickets [3-94 and 4-61] and scoring a vital 67 in the first innings.
Thakur, 33, said that there was always so much to learn from Pujara’s batting. “We have seen him spend a lot of time at the crease on many occasions. And the one thing that I’ve learned from him is that if you spend time on the crease, runs will come, and especially for a batter like me. I’m an attacking cricketer, I have the shots, so, if I can have the right mixture of aggression and controlled batting, I will get the runs,” said Thakur.
Interestingly, Thakur, who has claimed 33 Test scalps, 65 ODI victims and 33 T20I wickets so far, revealed that he would sledge Pujara many times during Team India practice sessions, but it made no difference to the batter.
“It was always tough [to bowl to Pujara]. I would try and sledge him in the nets, try to make him play shots because he can very easily bore you if you are a bowler. And then when you’d think that since he’s not playing any shot so you can bowl full to him, he would perfectly drive you. He has that high level of patience. But he’s a true gentleman of the game. He would always just smile [after being sledged] and say, ‘I know what you want, but this is my game, so you can keep bowling’,” added Thakur, who famously dismissed Pujara in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy final in Pune, ending his patient two hour-plus knock of 27 in the second innings en route a fifer (5-26) to help Mumbai beat Saurashtra by an innings and 21 runs.
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