Hanuma Vihari Emphasizes Cheteshwar Pujara’s Importance as India Prepares for Tough Australian Tour

The seasoned batsman Cheteshwar Pujara would be sorely missed, according to Hanuma Vihari, who was a part of India’s back-to-back series victories in Australia, when the squad attempts to achieve a hat-trick later this year.

In Perth, the five-test series kicks out on November 22. Pujara, who was out of favor, led all scorers in the 2018–19 series with 521 runs off 1258 balls, and three years later, with 271 runs off 928 balls, he was the mainstay of the Indian batting lineup once more.

The 103-Test veteran faced the most balls of any player in the two teams, eventually wearing out the opposition’s assault, which included Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins.

With the impending return of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Vihari pondered who could fill Pujara’s shoes.

“Pujara will a big miss. he was the backbone of the batting line-up in the last two series for Team India. He took blows, he batted time, he stayed there for a long time, he saw the new ball, he got runs. He made the job easier for the other batters coming in,” Vihari told PTI in an interaction arranged by JioCinema.

“So that kind of role… who will play is a question mark for me. Currently I would say we have an attacking mode of a batting line up (the top six). All like to play their shots. Virat is the only one I feel in that batting line up who can be like a glue to the other batters.

“He can stay on and bat the most number of overs and you know batting in Australia is all about time. If you see off the new ball, it gets a little easier with the older Kookaburra ball,” added Vihari who played the last of his 16 Tests in July 2022.

He also envisions a big role for K L Rahul at number six in Pujara’s absence. He believes that Risabh Pant belongs at number five the most. The top four are Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma.

“KL Rahul’s participation will be crucial in this situation as well because he can bat for a long time and has experience playing in SENA countries. He has performed admirably in SENA nations. I believe they are also considering KL Rahul at position six.

“They are considering a wider picture by starting Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz in the present series (against Bangladesh). When we tour Australia, they want to get experience in number six.

“Because in Australia playing at 6 you need to have good technique whether it’s facing the second new ball or batting after an early collapse,” he stated.

According to Vihari, Jaiswal’s encounter with Australia in their own country will be the largest for him so far. Although he has performed well at home, he has not yet shown himself in foreign settings.

It’s the largest test for him. He does, however, exude confidence. In general, mental preparation is crucial when facing Australia in Australia. Unlike the previous four times, we are playing five Test matches in Australia this time.

Because of this, living down under is considerably more mentally taxing because everyone is against you. The people and media are against you, and you are abroad and vulnerable to Australian attacks,” continued Vihari, who, during the last tour, stitched a match-saving partnership with R Ashwin in the Sydney Test.