Cheteswar Pujara made his Test debut back in 2010 and after showing initial glimpse of excellence, he however lost his spot due to an injury. And now after his exploits against West Indies ‘A’ in the Caribbeans, Pujara has been picked up in the squad for the two match Test series against New Zealand at home.
Well even though it a great opportunity for him, expectations were never so high on him than now. He is touted as one of the best options to fill in the number three position in the Test side that now lies vacant after Rahul Dravid’s retirement.
His style and technique has often made greats of the game comment that he can fill the void that Dravid’s departure has created in the team.
It will not be a revelation of sorts to say that Dravid has been the best batsman that the world has seen batting at number three position. He has scored more than 10,000 runs in the both the formats of the game and one of the most consistent batsmen of all time. Dravid is irreplaceable and this is a fact. But then the point is not replacing Dravid but filling the spot.
There are few challenges Pujara will face and he will have to overcome them if he has to hang on to his spot and live up to the expectations:
Dravid has been one of the most consistent batsmen of the World and the number three spot is the most crucial batting position in the team and the Bangalorean has always delivered in intense situations more often than not. So ability to perform under pressure and recover the team from dire straits will be one more thing that everyone would expect from Pujara. It is still not sure as to which position he would play in, but then as things are shaping up, in all likelihood he would be the one to come first down. So he will have to show temperament to deliver in crunch situations.
Pujara will not have to show his class but then will have to be consistent so that he can hang on to his spot in this high profile team. Consistency will be the key and more than anything the team would want him to be amongst the runs frequently.
He will face steep competition from his colleagues and to avoid losing his spot he will have to always up for the challenge and perform whenever his team wants him to.
By Indian Sports News Network
