Chennai, Feb 7: Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t want Rishabh Pant to curb his natural attacking instincts but would like the swashbuckler to be more “sensible” with his shot selection while putting the team’s requirements above everything else.
Pant scored a breathtaking 91 off 88 balls but then threw it away with a poor shot off Dom Bess as India finished the third day of the opening Test against England at 257 for six.
“It is his (Pant) natural game so we cannot restrict him much. He can’t be too defensive because by doing so he can get out quickly. It is good for his game that he keeps on playing his shots but, at times, he has to be very selective,” said Pujara at the end of the day’s play.
“He needs to understand which shots to play, which not. He needs to understand in which situation it is important that he stays in the crease. Balancing things out is the most important for him,” said one of the calmest influences in the Indian dressing room.
Pujara believes that a talent like Pant will learn from his mistakes as he has the ability to rectify and play for the team’s cause.
The senior batsman feels that if Pant is “sensible” and listens to the communication from the coaching stuff, he can avoid those ugly dismissals.
Pujara believes that the pitch is still good for batting and he has the confidence that Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin can take the game deep in terms of first innings score. England amassed 578 in their first essay.
Pujara’s freak dismissal – a pull shot that rebounded off Ollie Pop’s back and lobbed up to Rory Burns – along with Joe Root’s magnificent catch after Ajinkya Rahane failed to dispatch a full-toss were unlucky dismissals. (PTI)
