Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said that young Chiteshwar Pujara has got his basics right and the Saurashtra batsman could be tried in limited overs of cricket.
|Last Updated: Nov 19, 2012, 09:06 PM IST|Source: Bureau
New Delhi: Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said that young Cheteshwar Pujara has got his basics right and the Saurashtra batsman could be tried in limited overs of cricket.
"Something that certainly can be given a try, because he has got the basics right. If you have the basics right then expanding your shot-making capabilities is not so much of a problem," Gavaskar said when asked about Pujara scoring at a faster rate than Virender Sehwag during India`s chase on the final day of the first Test against England here today.
"You have the licence to play lot more shots in the limited overs cricket than in Test cricket. It is just a matter of confidence. He has been in the IPL teams... He hasn`t really got an opening. Even there he bats down the order, where he has got to come in and start hitting the ball in the air soon enough. That is not something that he is comfortable with," he told a channel.
"What he showed by hitting the ball down the ground and getting boundaries, he can also score at a fast pace," Gavaskar said about Pujara who was adjudged player-of-the-match for his unbeaten innings of 206 and 41 in the series opener against England which India won comfortably by nine wickets.
Asked whether the Indians were able to exploit the conditions better than the visitors, Gavaskar said: "Indian pitches are generally very-very good to bat on the first couple of days, then they sort of slow-down and have a bit of spin. Sometimes the ball keeps low. So you win the toss and you bat first."
"You have the opportunity to put up a decent total on the board and India did more than decent. They scored more than 500 runs. Batting first becomes an important aspect on Indian pitches."
On Indian bowlers` performance in comparison to their English counterparts, Gavaskar felt that the visitors bowled a bit short.
"England bowlers are perhaps not used to bowling with the SG ball and that is one of the reasons they were not able to get the contrast swing which Umesh Yadav and Zaheer Khan were able to get," he said.
"Zaheer and Umesh were bowling a much fuller length while the English bowlers were bowling just short of length than they are used to in England or on Australian surfaces. If you want to succeed as a bowler in India you got to bowl a much fuller length. You got to get the batsman committed on the front-foot, committed into playing attacking shots. That is where you can get wickets," Gavaskar insisted.
Gavaskar, meanwhile, dismissed the exchange of words between Pragyan Ojha and Stuart Broad as a "storm in the cup".
"That was an over reaction," the former India captain said.
On the prospect of Harbhajan Singh making a comeback into the Indian team, Gavaskar said: "He certainly seems to be very keen on making a comeback to the team and given that (Ravichandran) Ashwin was not as effective as he is used to, Harbhajan may be sniffing a small opportunity."
Asked whether India might go in with three spinners in the matches to come, Gavaskar said that was only possible if India goes in with just five batsmen, which is quite unlikely to happen.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.