Dependable Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently announced retirement from all forms of cricket, opened up on how Anil Kumble helped him and his batting while being the coach of the Indian national team in 2016-17. Pujara said Kumble’s important advice helped him succeed against Australia’s modern-day great spinner Nathan Lyon.
“I enjoyed working with Anil (Kumble) bhai because when he was the coach of the Indian team, he also had a lot of input for me,” said Pujara in The Indian Express Idea Exchange.
“When you interact with a great bowler, he has a lot of ideas about what a batter should do, and those ideas, the tactical moves and inputs, helped me in being successful against Nathan Lyon. The reason I was able to succeed against Lyon is that I received some important advice from Anil bhai when he was the coach of the Indian team in 2016 and 2017, which I implemented in my game,” he remembered.
Pujara went on to say that Kumble helped him in all parts of life, other than the cricket field as well. “In general, his guidance about my batting — how to conduct myself, things a bowler tries to do to get a batter out, how you can counterattack, how to outsmart a bowler, how you can think differently — has helped me,” said Pujara.
‘Fletcher liked my technique’
He also lauded South African coach Gary Kirsten, under whom India won the 2011 ODI World Cup at home. Pujara then spoke about his conversations with Zimbabwe cricketer and another former India coach, Duncan Fletcher.
“I debuted under Gary Kirsten and I learnt a lot from him. He was one of the best coaches I’ve worked with. I spoke a lot to Duncan (Fletcher) about my technique. He liked my technique a lot. I remember him telling me. ‘Do thank your father’ — he knew that my father was my coach — ‘because you have a strong foundation,” he said.
