Cheteshwar Pujara at Idea Exchange: ‘No regrets missing out on IPL contracts, but feel proud about performing in difficult conditions, playing 100 Tests’

I haven’t thought about the future yet but my daughter did mention when I announced my retirement that now she can trouble me a bit more as I will be at home all the time. That is something I’m looking forward to, as well, spending more time with family and friends. Because all these years, I haven’t been able to celebrate festivals either. Now since I’ll be in Rajkot, we will try and have more get-togethers. I also want to do social service, contribute to Indian cricket and continue with my media work.

Sandeep Dwivedi: The response to the news of your retirement must have been overwhelming. You might not have had the kind of IPL contracts that many young cricketers have but it must be gratifying to know the kind of respect you command among your fans, teammates and rivals?

It has been overwhelming. All the hard work that I put in for the Indian team was appreciated in a manner I didn’t expect. When you have chosen Tests, the ultimate format of the game, and perform well in difficult conditions, at a time when the team needs it the most, people notice. These were the moments that were appreciated the most. I am proud of it.

I did miss out on IPL contracts but I don’t regret it. The appreciation from around the world means a lot because it’s not just my journey, it’s that of my family, my extended family, friends. I’m at peace that I’ve played for India for such a long time. When I started playing cricket from Rajkot and Saurashtra, at that time, no one thought that a cricketer from that region would play for India. I feel proud that a cricketer from Saurashtra played more than 100 Tests.

Sandeep Dwivedi: So every blow you took on your body in the 2021 Brisbane Test was worth it …

Definitely, I think that is one of the best innings. I cannot answer how I did that because I genuinely feel there is a superpower which has been helping me. Because when you get hit on the body once or twice, you are used to it as a professional player. But when it happens frequently, and if you get hit on the same spot again and again, that pain is almost intolerable.

Sandeep Dwivedi: Many have said, you were the last of the Test specialists. Do you think the classical Test match batting approach will go out of business?

I think most players picked for Tests are for their performances in T20, IPL or ODIs. There are very few players who are getting picked because of their Ranji performances. Even bowlers are coming into Tests from the white-ball circuit. That is the reason I feel the strength of modern-era batsmen is to play attacking cricket. They are learning the art of defending or leaving the ball when the situation arises.

When you ask youngsters what they want to achieve, their answer is to play all the formats. They might want to play Tests but their priority is to get selected in the IPL or play white-ball cricket for India. Once the opportunity arises in Tests, they want to be part of the Test squad as well. So the game is revolving around the white ball and that is why I feel going forward, we will see even more attacking Test cricket, 5 to 10 years down the line. At the moment, it is still sensible cricket. Players are assessing the situation and then counterattacking. But I think the game is likely to move forward with a higher strike rate. However, this can only happen if you are playing on a flat pitch. If you start playing on a challenging pitch, can one continue to play attacking cricket? The answer is no. So in case a conventional Test player emerges from the Ranji Trophy, I still feel that he will have a chance to contribute to India’s Test team.

Cheteshwar Pujara in action. (FILE photo)

Sandip G: How did you cope with uncertainty in the last two years of your career, from playing the last Test to announcing retirement?

One thing I had in my mind was that I wanted to enjoy my cricket, whether I was playing for Saurashtra or Sussex, or if I get an opportunity to represent the Indian team again. I wanted to try and stay as relaxed as possible because when I look back at my cricketing journey, from making my debut for the Indian team in 2010, it has been a rollercoaster. I’ve had a couple of major injuries after that. I’ve had a little bit of a tough time in England in 2014, but since then things have been progressing well. But there have always been some challenges in my cricketing journey and that’s why I thought that towards the last phase of my career, I wanted to enjoy the game as much as possible. Yes, selection was in my mind. You always want to play at the highest level. But if it didn’t happen, I don’t have any regrets. I’ve enjoyed my last couple of years without having any pressure or tension.

On Virat KohLi and Rohit Sharma: Even if Virat and Rohit are just playing one format, they are talented and experienced enough to know what is expected from them. They also know when is the right time to call it off

Sriram Veera: In your time there was talk of ‘showing intent’, which those in the earlier generation didn’t have, like Rahul Dravid, who had batted alongside Virender Sehwag, who was more attacking than most. How did you deal with it and did it affect your game?

One has to stick to their strength and I stuck to my strength. I kept batting the way I knew the best I could to contribute to the team’s success. Yes, there were some questions which were raised in between. But if you look at the 2018 or 2021 series in Australia, when I started performing well over there, things started changing because they understood that there’s always a role for a classical Test match player. Your strike rate doesn’t matter that much if you can contribute to the team’s victory. I always looked at the bigger picture. As long as I was doing that, I knew I was doing justice to my ability.

Sriram Veera: There’s a brilliant stat also, like 30.4 per cent of India’s total runs in the Tests you had played were accumulated while you were at the crease..

I got to know some stats recently. Someone was telling me that 13 of my 19 hundreds came in winning causes. Someone said that whenever I’ve scored more than 70 runs, India has not lost the game 80 percent of times. It is a very good achievement as a batsman because if you have scored more than 70 runs and the team doesn’t lose a game, I think that’s a victory for any batsman.

Lalith Kalidas: When Sachin Tendulkar retired, you were at the non-striker’s end. Your memories…

There was a full house at the Wankhede. I was there at the crease when Sachin paaji walked in to bat and that was the loudest cheer I’ve ever heard on a cricket field. India only batted once in that Test and I was there throughout his innings. I was overwhelmed with all the accolades he was getting. I was a little nervous as well because I had to focus on my game. I had to concentrate, which was tough. When he was trying to say something, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. So I asked him if he could speak a bit louder. He told me that we’ll try to be in our zone, focus on the game and build a partnership. We did, and I am proud of the fact I was the only batter who batted with him in his last Test match. His guidance has been very valuable in my cricketing journey.

Nitin Sharma: How did you see filling Rahul Dravid’s shoes and creating your legacy?

When I started batting at number three, I was not thinking about filling up Rahul bhai’s shoes because when I made my debut, he was still playing and I always felt that I wanted to play alongside him and learn from him as much as possible. I batted the way I bat and I also got that advice at an early age that you should never try to copy anyone. There were a lot of similarities and I could relate to it because I had spoken to Rahul bhai about the challenges at batting at number three.

Truly grateful for all the love and wishes 🙏 pic.twitter.com/TiQLIEhzXC

— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) August 26, 2025

Sandeep Dwivedi: Can you talk about preparing days before a match. You need adequate sleep to be match ready, you need to keep your mind free of problems. What role has your family played and are you guilty of making certain family-related decisions for the sake of cricket?

I’m very particular about my sleep. I need eight hours of sleep every day before a game. For this I would start preparing my body 48 to 72 hours before a game. I used to go to bed at 10 pm since you leave the hotel by 7 for a 9.30 am game. I am a light sleeper so I would need peace. One particular guilty moment was during the Test at Southampton where I told my wife Puja that she and our daughter had to move out of the team hotel. Since there was no room available in the same hotel, I told her that they would have to find another accommodation because I need my sleep. We had a little bit of an argument, but finally she had to move out of the hotel. I ended up scoring a hundred and later told me that if I carry on scoring hundreds, she doesn’t mind finding accommodation.

On test matches and the way forward: The game is revolving around the white ball. Five to 10 years down the line, we will see even more attacking in Test cricket. The game is likely to move forward with a higher strike rate

I told her not to travel to Australia (2018-19 series) when Aditi was young. She was kind enough not to travel in that series and I had an amazing series. She has been reminding me of all the incidents which have happened where I had to tell her that yeah, if you can please allow me to focus on my game!

But family’s support is also important. You need to identify the moment where you need to be professional and when you want your privacy. But at the same time their support is needed especially when playing away from home because sometimes there are big breaks between the games and you want to spend it with your family just to switch off from the game, start focusing on different things.

Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara. (FILE photo)

Mayank: If I could group you, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne together, it would be a bracket of players who are methodical. This includes all those quirks and routines. When you are mentally locked in, it becomes hard to break your concentration. Was it generally harder to get into that locked-in zone precisely because you were so methodical?

I don’t think it’s difficult because there’s always a method behind what you are doing as a batter. So each and every batter has a different way of preparing themselves. For (Marnus) Labuschagne, it might be different. For (Steve) Smith, it might be different. I follow a different routine. But it’s important to stick to your routine and preparation methods. Once you do that, when you walk to bat in the middle, you get into that zone where nothing is disturbing you.

Is it difficult to get into that zone? I don’t think so, because when you do hours and hours of practice, you have a lot of preparation even without practising. So, I do yoga and breathing exercises, I follow a prayer routine, which also helps me immensely before a game. When you follow a certain routine, you develop a habit of how to get into the prime focus zone or how to have your prime concentration when you walk out to bat. Once you get into that zone, nothing can distract you, like sledging and pressure. Once you know your method, then you start relying on it and you carry on with that.

On batting with sachin tendulkar in his farewell test | I was nervous because I had to focus on my game, I had to concentrate, which was tough. I was overwhelmed with all the accolades he was getting… He told me that we’ll try to be in our zone, focus on the game and build a partnership; We did

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Sandeep Dwivedi: There is one clip going viral about you following the ball from the hands of the wicket keeper to the slips to the bowler and you keep watching the ball. There are some chants which you would repeat just to be in that focus. How can you be in that zone even when there is so much crowd. Were there some other methods you would do?

As I used to bat at number three, you don’t know when you walk into bat because sometimes openers can have a long partnership. Sometimes you might have to walk in first over. So you are in an uncertain zone. So it’s important to assess what’s happening on the field. When you walk into bat, you don’t have a lot of time to prepare and see the ball because when you are seeing the ball from a distance, when you’re sitting in the dressing room, your concentration is not at its peak. So to achieve the peak concentration, I used to follow the ball from the wicket keeper’s gloves to the slip cordon to wherever it was passed on. Just to give a signal to my brain to switch on as quickly as possible. Also when you watch the ball, you look at the shine of the ball. It gives a signal to your eyes to keep watching that ball. Also, your body is not moving really well, you are playing in a different weather.

Like in England, it could be cold and your body is not functioning as you want. So you know if there is a fuller ball, you want to play on the front foot, but your body is stiff. But if you are at least watching the ball, even if there is an error in the footwork, you will be able to time the ball.

Cheteshwar Pujara in action during the WTC final against Australia. (AP)

Tushar Bhaduri: What role does good physical fitness play in long innings?

You are giving your best while fielding for a long period of time. Sometimes you may end up fielding for more than 200 overs. After that, you have to just walk in and bat and are expected to perform well because you can’t make the excuse that ‘I’m tired’ or ‘my legs are fatigued’. You have to ensure the team doesn’t lose a game. If you are fit enough, it helps you maintain concentration for longer periods of time. It also helps with your footwork. You can convert some of the singles into doubles, sometimes twos into threes. As you cross 30, that’s when you try and work on your fitness a bit more, because that’s when you feel a little bit more soreness in your muscles. If you want to prolong your career, you want to be at peak fitness when you are in your late 30s.

Shivani Naik: When India’s batting unit fails, like in the home series against New Zealand, what do you think exactly goes wrong?

Against New Zealand, we played on a pitch where there was a lot of assistance for spinners. If you are playing on a rank turner where the game finishes in two and a half, three days, the skill of a player is taken out of the game. You are relying on luck to score a 50 or a 60, and to score a 100 is a phenomenal achievement. So we need to start playing on slightly better pitches. There should be assistance for a spinner, but the game should finish on day four or five.

We saw the pitches in England, which were exciting. They were on the flatter side. There were times where the game wasn’t moving forward. In India, it’s slightly different because if you play on a good track, you might see a lot or runs in the first innings. In the second innings, the ball starts to turn a bit more. We should be looking to play more on such pitches because that will allow our batters to score runs. But at the same time, it will also allow spinners to improve their skills. When there’s assistance, the opposition spinners, without having a lot of skills are also effective on those pitches.

On physical fitness | Sometimes you end up fielding for more than 200 overs. After that, you have to walk in and bat and are expected to perform because you can’t make the excuse that ‘I’m tired’ or ‘my legs are fatigued’. You have to ensure the team doesn’t lose

Shivani Naik: What about the Lord’s Test when India failed to chase 193?

It was a one odd game where they were put under pressure, and there was quality bowling from England. So I wouldn’t blame the Indian batting line-up because it’s a young line-up. They were put under pressure, the pitch started behaving a little differently. I think it was about handling the pressure. But overall, the Indian batters handled the pressure really well in the series.

Venkata Krishna B: From the time you started to now, how do you see the quality of bowling in domestic cricket?

The quality of fast bowlers in each and every domestic team has improved a lot. Back then, most of the teams had quality spinners and I ended up playing more cricket on turning tracks when I started of. But now, teams have good all-rounders. Maybe, the quality of spinners, there is a bit of a difference. Because of white ball cricket, most of the spinners are looking to contain and not pick wickets. Not all the teams, but some of them where they are getting their spinners from white-ball cricket. They are just trying to adjust their bowling and learning the art of bowling with the red ball.

I’m sure we will get more spinners going forward. We have Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep. But if there are a couple of injuries and some of the players are not available, who are your replacements? That is where you need to have a bunch of players ready for the next level. I’m sure that will happen eventually. But spinners need to be nurtured in domestic cricket and looked after.

Nihal Koshie: The BCCI has mandated the need to play domestic cricket when not on India duty. But with the packed calendar, do you think it is fair? Would it be better to have longer camps, where the national coaches can monitor them before a big series?

It’s important for the players to play domestic cricket. It raises the standard of domestic cricket. When top players are participating, there’s a lot of motivation, a lot of things some of the young domestic players can learn. At the same time, workload needs to be managed. If you are a multi-format player, you can’t be participating in every game, but you need to identify if there is a Test series coming up. Just for that preparation, if someone can manage to play one or two games, that can be ideal. For a batsman they should be playing as many games as possible in the domestic circuit.

It might be slightly different for bowlers. Someone like Jasprit Bumrah needs to manage his workload and can’t be expected to play domestic cricket. But if there is a young fast bowler trying to develop his bowling in red-ball cricket, he should be playing as many matches as possible. The team management and coaching staff at the NCA should sit together and figure out a roadmap for every player

Nihal Koshie: Rohit and Virat are playing in just one format. The World Cup is in two years, what advice would you give them? With so many youngsters knocking on the doors, do you see a future for them?

Firstly, I don’t need to give any advice because they are some of the best players in white ball cricket. Even if they are just playing one format, they are experienced enough to know what is expected out of them. They are such talented players. Look at the records Virat and Rohit have. They also know when it is the right time for them to call it off. They know there is a lot of commitment which is needed, and if they are fit enough, if they want to carry on playing international cricket for a long time.

Lalith Kalidas: Can you talk about that transition phase at the start of your career, when all these legends retired?

I made my debut before the transition phase, in 2010, and shared the dressing room when the great players were around. I had learnt a lot by asking them questions like what can I do to get better, not just in India, but even in OZ’s conditions. So those sort of interactions did help me. The team did go through transition in 2014, and it was a slightly challenging period for many of the young players because we went to England in 2014, then we went to Australia in 2015, which were a couple of tough losses for the Indian team.

But most of the team members, like Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Virat, Rohit, Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, had played a lot of games for India A, had a good bonding, which allowed us through that phase.

Lalith Kalidas: What influence did Duncan Fletcher have on you? Can you talk about others as well?

I debuted under Gary Kirsten and I learnt a lot from him. He was one of the best coaches I’ve worked with. I spoke a lot to Duncan about my technique. He liked my technique a lot. I remember him telling me” ‘Do thank your father’ — he knew that my father was my coach — ‘because you have a strong foundation’.

I also enjoyed working with Anil bhai because he also gave a lot of input. Being a great bowler, he had a lot of ideas about what a batter should do. Those ideas, tactical moves and inputs helped me in being successful against Nathan Lyon. In general, his guidance about my batting — how to conduct myself, things a bowler tries to do to get a batter out, how you can counterattack, how to outsmart a bowler, how you can think differently — has helped me.

Rohit Mundayur: You have a List A average of over 57. What’s your favourite innings in this format?

In Rajkot, we were chasing more than 300 or close to 300-350, maybe. So I would have scored 130-40. I can’t remember my exact score, but I was batting well and I was in complete control of the way I was accelerating the innings. Unfortunately, we kept losing the wickets at the other end. Last two balls, we needed 12 runs, I hit a six off the first ball, but couldn’t convert the ball into another 6. But I still cherish that innings because that was one of my best List A innings.