Before it gets too late, Cheteshwara Pujara must let go of his habit of getting out with loose shots

 “A double hundred in a Test against Australia is always a special achievement. But I tell Cheteshwar to avoid playing the hook shot. He will tell me that it is a scoring shot but I believe it’s a risky one,” Cheteshwara Pujara’s father said after Pujara Junior had struck his second Test ton in a gap of four months in 2013.

A lot of cricketers have their fathers as their first coach but in Pujara’s case is a little different. His father, Arvind Pujara has played First-Class cricket, continues to perform the role even when his son is a big name in the Indian squad.

When he watches his son bat on TV, he’s not a father for a coach looking to better his ward’s game.

Something which Pujara Sr pointed on in 2013 still stands strong even five years later but unfortunately, Pujara has not followed his father’s tips on quite a few occasions.

By the time Cheteshwara Arvind Pujara’s debut came along, the Saurashtra veteran of 50 First-Class matches had clinched 4,000 runs at an average of 60.39. Pujara played his debut Test in Bangalore against Australia in 2010.

He replaced an injured VVS Laxman before he was sent ahead of India’s No. 3 specialist Rahul Dravid at that particular crucial position during India’s chase of 207.

In the first innings, the world didn’t see much of Pujara as he got dismissed for a mere four runs. When Virender Sehwag got out on the fifth day, the Bangalore crowd would have expected to watch their local hero, Dravid, to come out and win India yet another match.

However, what followed next resulted in a silent atmosphere in the Chinnaswamy Stadium for some time. Instead of Dravid, it was Pujara, who walked in at No. 3 when the hosts still needed another 190 runs to defeat Australia.

Pujara took a risky single and was lucky as Ricky Ponting missed hitting the stumps. One could have put it down to a debutant’s nerves. By the time the match ended, Pujara was a massive hit as his match-winning knock of 72 off 89 balls helped India defeat Australia by seven wickets.

Pujara took another four innings to register his maiden Test hundred followed by his maiden Test double ton two Tests later.

In contemporary cricket, Pujara shows glimpses of Dravid and Laxman with his old-school game. Similar to the legends, Pujara’s mantra was to compose his innings slowly. He struck to singles and gradually when the ball got old, he went for his signature drives and flicks.

When Pujara struck two double hundreds in the span of six Tests, a lot of cricket enthusiasts and pundits considered him India’s best Test batsman in the current side. With his temperament, technique, and patience, Pujara had the knack of playing longer innings. Even if the runs didn’t come at an ease, he knew how to frustrate the opposition with his ultra-defensive skills.

However, the habit of hooking or pulling the ball needlessly and getting himself run out in avoidable situations has tended to stick with Pujara and that has proved to be a curse for both the player and Team India.

With 60 Tests to his name, Pujara is one of the most experienced players in the current Indian Test team. Moreover, he plays just the longest format and that leaves him with no option but to deliver in the red-ball game. Unfortunately, the Gujarat-born cricketer shines only in Asia, where he averages 65, while he averages a poor 33.50 in Australia, 19.53 in England, 15 in New Zealand and 31.61 in South Africa.

In the recently-ended away series against South Africa, there were a few times when Pujara looked in absolute control and hinted at a big knock but threw away the opportunity with a flurry of loose shots.

In the first Test at Cape Town, Indian bowlers bowled out the hosts for 286 runs. At stumps of the opening day, India had Rohit Sharma with Pujara at the crease. The duo retained the same momentum when play resumed the next day. While India lost Rohit after a while, Pujara carried on the battle from the other end.

With utmost patience, mental fortitude blended with text-book style cricket against the fierce South African pace quartet of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander, Pujara stood like a rock with his defensive batting. He did that for a whole first session, which saw only 48 runs scored but when India reached lunch, they still had a determined Pujara on 26 off 91 balls. That was a chance for the tourists to build an early advantage in the match.

However, Pujara threw away his wicket on the first ball post the lunch break. A ball that could have been left, Pujara with hard hands swung unnecessarily and the ball flew straight to Faf du Plessis on the second slip, who dove to his right and completed the catch.

Pujara found himself in trouble when he became the first batsman to get run out in both innings of a Test and that happened in the second Test of the same tour.

After a poor South Africa tour, Pujara failed to deliver even during his County stint with Yorkshire as well in both List A and First-Class formats and that saw him being axed from the Indian side for the opening Test against England at Edgbaston last month. Since, India lost the match owing to a collective failure from the batsmen, Kohli brought Pujara back to the side for the Lord’s Test.

He added another risky runout to his Test career and in the second innings, he was out just when he began to look comfortable. One could let that go because of the terrible weather caused by the rains that allowed English pacers to make Indian batsmen’s life hell with swing.

But, Pujara cannot be forgiven for his dismissal on the opening day of the third Test on Saturday. Thanks to KL Rahul and Dhawan, India were off to a great start at Trent Bridge. India lost their first wicket at 60 for 1 and that brought Pujara in the middle.

With Lady Luck coming to his aid in a couple of incidents, he somehow managed to survive England’s attack. The Indians so far were able to make full use of the rare batting conditions during a day of English cricket. Pujara looked more comfortable, was playing the ball late and left the ball, like old times more often. Time was ticking off, lunch was nearing and all Pujara needed to do was not get out.

Alas, he had other plans. He continued his bad spell as he went for a needless pull against a short ball and was caught by Adil Rashid at the deep backward square. The look on the face showed how angry Pujara was with himself for the choice of the shot he had made.

Again, this was not his first mistake in the recent times. Pujara has been so un-Pujara-like whenever India has played outside sub-continent. He couldn’t have gotten a better chance to better his numbers in England. The pressure of saving his place in the team is clearly taking a toll on his natural game. Before it gets too late, Pujara needs to find a solution to end this lean patch.