Indian cricket team will rely heavily on their star Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara in the final of the ICC World Test Championship and not just because of his stellar record in the format but also for his deep knowledge of the England conditions having played plenty of county cricket for the likes of Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Sussex.
Pujara was tuning up for the WTC final against Australia by captaining Sussex and scoring four centuries for them in the county championship.
Clearly, he’s been in rich vein of form and will be key to India’s chance of winning the world championship. In fact, former England cricketer Monty Panesar has even branded him as the ‘X-factor’.
“The Indian top-order is in form. The conditions (at The Oval) will be similar to the Wankhede pitch which is fast and bouncy. My x factor batter will be Pujara because he has done so well in these English conditions for Sussex. He is the guy who binds this batting line up together,” Panesar told news agency PTI.
“He (Pujara) is good with his defence and if the ball is going to do a little bit, he can negotiate the Aussie bowlers and when the pitch is flat, the others can cash in with some attacking cricket,” he added.
Panesar also thinks that Ishan Kishan should play ahead of KS Bharat in the role of the wicketkeeper-batter.
“You don’t need to be an extraordinary wicketkeeper in England. He has been keeping and batting well. He should play ahead of Bharat,” the 41-year-old said.
Panesar advises Indian batters to be cautious against the left-arm pace of Mitchell Starc who is capable of changing the ‘game with one spell’.
“For Australia, Starc will be the one to watch out for. He is going to be quick and he is going to get that late movement. He can change the game with one spell. He is the guy Australia will go to when they need a wicket,” he said.
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