Cheteshwar Pujara’s batting approach has been under the scanner for quite a while and the scrutiny mounted after his exploits in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand.
In the WTC final, Pujara scored 8 off 54 balls in the first innings and followed it with 15 off 80 balls in the second essay as fans and pundits questioned his lack of intent.
On the eve of the five-Test series against England, however, skipper Virat Kohli has come out in support of India’s No. 3 batter, saying the criticism for Pujara in recent times is unnecessary and a player of his calibre "should be left alone".
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"It's been going on for a while. A player of his caliber and experience should be left alone. It should be left to the individual to work on whatever drawbacks in his game, similarly with me and any other player in the team.
"From the outside, I can say that criticism is unnecessary, but I for a fact know that Pujara doesn't care. People can say what they want but at the end of the day, it's just words," said Kohli in the pre-match press conference, as quoted by ANI.
England’s ace all-rounder Ben Stokes on Friday (July 30) took an indefinite break from all forms of cricket to prioritize his mental wellbeing. His decision to take care of mental health has been backed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Speaking on the same line, the Indian captain highlighted the importance of taking a break from cricket to come back afresh.
"Subconsciously, your mind keeps working. You're used to planning on a daily basis. So it's important to take a break. You saw Ben Stokes is taking a break," Kohli said.
"We've been in bubbles for a few months. It's not easy, so the breaks are important. We can refresh and come back because being a captain is a stressful job."
"And you confine us into a bubble, it becomes even more difficult. It's important to take breaks. We go into this series fresh and optimistic. For us, especially me as captain, this break was important," he further remarked.
(With ANI inputs)
