Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine, who is currently working with Australia A in Puducherry for the four-day unofficial Test series against India A, recalled how the former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara used to irritate his team a lot.
Speaking to TOI in an exclusive conversation, Paine revealed Pujara as the hardest batter to dismiss during his Test captaincy. However, Paine disclosed that pacer Pat Cummins eventually figured out a bit of how to get him.
“(Cheteshwar) Pujara. He was hard to get out. He had great concentration and discipline and was tough. He used to irritate us. We were just trying to get him out. Pat Cummins eventually figured him out a bit and got him caught behind,” Paine told TOI.
Further, Paine showered praise on the keeper-batter Rishabh Pant for being aggressive and confident during the tour of Australia. Further, he shared his views on Pant not being part of the white-ball set-up.
“I loved the way he came to Australia and played, how aggressive and confident he was. That’s something we’re trying to instil in this young group, the belief that you can go out and change games. That’s what Rishabh did against high-class bowlers. He threw them off their lines and lengths and put them under pressure. It was a great way to play, and a lot of the time I try and encourage our players to do the same thing,” he added.
“I haven’t watched enough of his white-ball cricket to say. I know his IPL over the last couple of years hasn’t been brilliant, but if he’s playing well, he could be playing in most white-ball teams around the world. It’s probably about capturing that form again and taking his red-ball cricket into white-ball cricket. There’s no reason why someone as skilled and talented as him, if he’s playing well, wouldn’t be a fantastic white-ball player,” he concluded.
