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‘He’s going to be a huge wicket’: Joe Root names the Indian batsman ‘who’s going to be a great challenge’ for England
The England captain said that the Cheteshwar Pujara is a ‘fantastic player’ and is going to be a ‘huge wicket’ for them.
Joe Root-led England team is preparing to square off against India in the four-match Test series, starting from Friday in Chennai. Ahead of the first face-off, the English captain admitted that facing Kohli & Co in India isn’t an easy task for his team but, his teammates are pretty confident following the series win against Sri Lanka last month.
During a virtual press conference on Thursday, Root said it’s going to be a challenging series for England and the team is looking forward to it.
“We are getting a huge amount of confidence after winning the two Tests against Sri Lanka, we are realistic about where we are as a team. We know this is going to be a huge challenge for us, we are looking forward to it. It is about concentrating on the right things which we think would be the best for us, this is a great opportunity for this group, we are looking forward to the next four Tests,” said Root.
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Root also hailed Cheteshwar Pujara who played a crucial role in India's historic triumph in Australia. The England captain said that the India No. 3 is a ‘fantastic player’ and is going to be a ‘huge wicket’ for them.
“I think he is a fantastic player, I had the pleasure of playing a couple of games with him for Yorkshire. To learn from him and speak about batting, was really interesting.
“Playing against him and being on the wrong end of him scoring some runs, you learn from those kinds of innings. You have seen his importance and what he adds to the Indian team, he is going to be a huge wicket for us, no doubt,” said Root.
“There would be times when we would be required to stay patient, and we need to be mentally strong as he is at the crease, we know he is a fantastic player. He has a fantastic record at home, in particular, it is going to be a great challenge to come up against him,” he added.
Earlier today, England were jolted after batsman Zak Crawley was ruled out with an injured wrist. Speaking about the Crawley’s injury, Root said, “It is really frustrating, really frustrating for Zak in particular. Walking out of the changeroom, he slipped over and landed on his wrist. We have to look at things from a selection point of view, everything is on the table in terms of selection.”
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“We will look at the conditions and the pitch again to have clarity heading into the game. We can go with a number of options, that is the exciting part for us, we have a number of different players who can play at different positions,” he added.
