MS Dhoni, Cheteshwar Pujara and Stephen Fleming
Justifying Chennai Super Kings' decision to go for Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara in the IPL 2021 mini-auction, CEO K Viswanathan has said that the 34-year-old will 'certainly' have a role to play in the upcoming season.
Known for his defensive batting forte, Pujara was bought by the three-time champions for INR 50 lakh in the mini-auction earlier this year. Pujara had also received a round of applause when the veteran batsman was signed by the three-time champions.
In a recent interview, Viswanathan said that Pujara's 'good' technique can help him adapt to any format. "See, we also wanted to honour him, that’s for sure. But at the same time, I can tell you one thing, a person of his calibre with such good technique, he can adapt to any format," K Viswanathan told The Indian Express.
"That is our view. He can be a player who can contribute a lot to CSK. That’s what we felt and that is the reason why we picked him.
"He will certainly have a role to play (up the order), but I cannot say whether he will play the first game or the second game. That is not the question (also). He is an important part of our group and we look forward to his contribution," he further added.
Pujara, on Wednesday, said that he's excited and honoured to don the yellow jersey as he received the official CSK kit from skipper MS Dhoni.
"Excited and honoured to receive the official kit from @msdhoni bhai and the @ChennaiIPL family! Looking forward to a great season ahead," he wrote on Twitter.
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.
