Gautam Gambhir, the current skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders a franchise based team in the Indian Premier League is well known for his outspoken nature. Gambhir praised Cheteshwar Pujara for his impeccable form in the Test cricket.
He also expressed that playing a single format of the game has helped Pujara to be one of the mainstays of India’s Test batting. He also credited Pujara’s county stint for his improvement in batting. The Delhi born cricketer rated Pujara more than Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Speaking of Pujara’s form, he said “One thing which is really important to note is that he is playing only one form of the game. He can actually keep his mind pretty stable while playing and preparing only for five-day cricket. Had he been playing One-Dayers and T20Is as well, it would have been much more difficult for him, because sometimes you have to change your mindset. When you’re not scoring runs in One-Day cricket, you go into a Test series not with the same confidence. But when you’re playing just one format, it is easier to be consistent than someone who is playing all three formats.”
He also admitted that Pujara should be given more honour for the consistency he has shown for the past one-two years. “That’s the unfortunate thing. We don’t give too much importance to Test cricket, and that is the reason. It is all about white-ball cricket and what people do in ODIs and T20s. But yes, when it comes to red-ball cricket, he (Pujara) is right at the top. Maybe far more consistent than Kohli or Dhawan,” the left-handed batsman added
Gambhir has been one of the leading run scorers for India in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. He has represented India in 57 Tests and 147 ODI’s scoring 4154 and 5238 runs respectively.
