Cheteshwar Pujara
Like most of his other teammates, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara returned to the nets after a long three-months break owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pujara shared pictures of himself padding up before getting to the nets as he captioned it, "Back at it...felt like a long time away but just as i took the stance felt as if it was yesterday".
Pujara last appeared for India in the two-match Test series against New Zealand where the visitors lost 0-2. Pujara managed 100 runs at 25.50 and was the second-highest run-getter for India after Mayank Agarwal's tally of 102.
He will next be up against Australia in the impending Border-Gavaskar series which will begin from December 3 at the Gabba.
India will also play a pink-ball Test in the same series, in the second Test at Adelaide and Pujara opined that the pink kookaburra will be a challenge for the newbies who are used to play the SG red in domestic cricket.
"It's different from what we are used to with red ball. The format is the same but the pace of the ball and visibility is quite different. As a batsman you need to get used to it. You need to have net sessions and in domestic cricket it's not easy," said Pujara on Sony Ten.
"Players who are given a chance to play for India are used to the red SG balls so they are ready for a red ball Test match. But then they will not have too much experience with the pink ball so I think it will be a challenge for a youngster to come in and play a pink ball Test.
"But yes, those who have already played with it in a domestic tournament and those that have played the pink ball Test, they may get more used to it but it's a different challenge altogether for a batsman."
"They will get more pace and bounce off the pitch due to conditions there. However, the Kookaburra pink ball doesn't swing much and once the ball gets older it will be pretty good to bat against. Batting in Australia against the old Kookaburra ball whether it be red or pink is one of the best conditions to bat on," he said.
