IND vs NZ: ‘He bats for more than an hour and doesn’t do anything’: Ex-PAK captain points out major flaw in India batter

IND vs NZ: Former Pakistan captain lauded the Team India batter's “positive” intent but also said that the real issue lies in his “favourite game”.

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has opined that senior India batter Cheteshwar Pujara is not suffering due to a technical issue in the ongoing India vs New Zealand 1st Test at Green Park in Kanpur.

IND vs NZ: ‘He bats for more than an hour and doesn’t do anything’: Ex-PAK captain Salman Butt points out major flaw in India batter (HT COLLAGE)

While analysing Pujara's batting in the two innings, where he scored 26 and 22, respectively, Butt quipped that Pujara looked “positive” and that he only made a mistake in the second innings off Kyle Jamieson's bowling.

“I don’t think Pujara has a technical issue. He showed some intent while scoring runs in England. But when he decides to play his favorite game, which is to defend even if the ball is there to be hit, then he bats for more than an hour and doesn’t do anything," said Butt in a video on his YouTube channel.

He added:

“Today (Sunday), he scored 22 off 33 balls, so he was a bit positive. Otherwise, he takes 70 balls to score as many runs. Pujara didn’t need to play that short ball but this is what Kyle Jamieson can do. Batters make such mistakes because of his pace and height.”

Meanwhile, he also spoke about Shubman Gill and his failure with the bat in the second innings. Gill, after scoring 52 in the first, could only score 1 before being castled by Jamieson. Butt opined that Gill's mentality of expecting certain deliveries is what is hurting him.

“I thought Shubman Gill's technique is very tight but, I think, mentally he is expecting something else. Looking at his feet movement, I feel that he is expecting short-pitched stuff. I don’t know why but this is a mental side of his game that seems rather visible.”