Cheteshwar Pujara is all set to be back in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the first time since IPL 2014. The hero of India’s Test series wins in Australia is returning to the IPL after a 6-year-break.
Cheteshwar Pujara has not played the IPL since 2014 after having represented Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders. Pujara, in 22 IPL innings, scored 390 runs at a strike rate of almost 100.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were the franchise that bought Pujara at his base price of Rs 50 lakh in the 2021 IPL auction. He will join his former India teammates MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina at the franchise.
Former Australia cricketer Brett Lee, however, is not a hundred per cent sure whether Pujara will be able to score runs at a quick pace. Lee admitted that it won’t be an easy task for ‘terrific’ batsman Pujara given he takes his time to settle in Test cricket.
“You can look at two different aspects. Firstly, he is a terrific cricketer there is no doubt about his ability, no doubt about his technique or his determination to bat time. But when you look at the other side of things, you’ve also got to think that this isn’t Test cricket, this is T20s. It’s over in 90 minutes, 20 overs,” Lee said on the show ‘T20 Crazy’ on SportsAdda.
“You’ve got to score runs as quickly as possible. Can he do that under pressure? Maybe he can. What we’ve seen recently in the Australian series is that he loves to bat time so look it’s an interesting call. I’m a big fan of Pujara, I think he has a lot to offer. But let’s see if he can make it in this format,”
IPL 2021 starts on April 9 with Mumbai Indians locking horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will start their campaign in the 14th edition on April 9 as they take on Delhi Capitals in Mumbai.
