Cheteshwar Pujara
Chennai Super Kings' new recruit Cheteshwar Pujara looked in fine touch as he hit the nets to prepare for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In a video that surfaced on Twitter, the 33-year-old, known for his defensive batting forte, was spotted taking his fellow teammates to the cleaners. He first hit pacer Deepak Chahar over deep mid-wicket. Next, it was Karn Sharma who was slog-swept by Pujara through the on-side.
Pujara, who was bought by the three-time champions for INR 50 lakh in the mini-auction, took the ariel route many a time during the session. The right-hander charged down the track and also flicked off his pads, flaunting his aggressive side during the session. Pujara, who was batting with a low backlift, last batted in the IPL in 2014 when he was a part of the Kings XI Punjab franchise.
The Chennai franchise had recently also shared a clip where Pujara was seen training along with Robin Uthappa and K Gowtham. "Really happy, it's good to be out on the field," Pujara said in the video. "It's good to be wearing yellow, really looking forward to my stint with CSK."
During the mini-auction earlier this year, CSK picked up England all-rounder Moeen Ali for INR 7 crore, apart from Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham (INR 9.25 crore) and Pujara (INR 50 lakh). The Yellow Army also got hold of Tamil Nadu batsman C Hari Nishaanth, Harishankar Reddy and Bhagath Varma (all for INR 20 lakh).
While IPL 2021 is set to start from April 9 in Chennai, MS Dhoni-led CSK will begin their campaign an evening later when they take on the previous season's runner-up, Delhi Capitals, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
