Former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has recalled how he was sledged by a few Australian players that he wouldn’t get a chance in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, Pujara made it to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise after being out of the IPL for almost seven years.
Notably, Pujara played for three IPL franchises: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). While he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), he didn’t make it to the playing XI.
“In 2018 and even in the 2020-21 series, many times I used to get that sledge from Australian players, ‘You won’t get a chance in the IPL if you bat like this.’ When it happened, I wanted to go back to that Aussie player and tell him that you will get that reward even by performing well in Test cricket,” Pujara told Aakash Chopra on YouTube.
Further, Pujara revealed the key learnings from his brief stint for the Chennai-based outfit despite not being part of the playing XI in the IPL 2021 campaign. Notably, CSK defeated KKR by 27 runs in the grand finale to lift the IPL 2021 silverware.
“I was very pleased and happy that I got that opportunity. It was good to be in the IPL environment again, and fortunately, CSK won the trophy that year. I also got to know about that environment. It is an achievement. I might not have played a game for CSK, but even being in the environment, seeing things like how the team is doing better, which players have contributed, and how the management is managing the team. My contribution to the team winning the title may not be even one per cent, but you are in that winning environment, and you learn a lot,” he added.
