‘I’m learning the art of sledging’: When Cheteshwar Pujara was interviewed by Ajinkya Rahane

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have a lot in common. The duo have been hailed by Virat Kohli as the two best Test batsmen in the team. In the Colombo Test, they added 217 runs for the fourth wicket to guide India to 622-9 in the first innings and set the foundation for the series win in Sri Lanka.

And after the win, Pujara conducted a freewheeling, on-air interview with Rahane for BCCI.tv, giving us a rare insight into just how their minds work.

The two – who have played together since their Under-14 days when they were with Indian Oil –- shared an easy rapport as they questioned each other on a host of topics, from marriage, to books, video games and food as well as their unusual approach to cricket.

Pujara himself introduced Rahane as someone very similar to him – calm, composed and silent. But the Mumbai batsmen was quick to cheekily point out that he was not as silent as he was introduced, thanks to his recent marriage.

“I have started talking more ever since I got married,” Rahane said with a laugh, “But I have been the quiet types right from the beginning and that has to do with my family background and also maybe because I meditate and do yoga.” The Indian vice-captain added that his calm nature helps him on field, especially in Tests.

On the other hand, Rahane pointed out that Pujara is no longer as calm and composed as he used to be on the cricket field, and has, in fact, even begun to indulge in sledging. To which the Saurashtra batsman replied that yes, he has indeed begun to see the advantages of strategic sledging.

“I am still learning the art of sledging,” Pujara admitted. “You need to sledge sometimes, if the need arises because at times the bowlers need some help and as fielders we can help them. But it can’t be personal,” he added.

Calm and composed

Talking about their mammoth partnership, Pujara asked Rahane what was his plan as he came in to bat, because he was “very comfortable with the way he started.”

“I wanted to take my time initially, but then I wanted to look for the bad balls because we felt that the wicket was going to become dangerous. I was visualising the scenario from the dressing room and wanted to unsettle spinners and rotate strike. The moment we started using our feet, their spinners weren’t quite sure where to land the ball and we could get runs off the backfoot,” Rahane replied.

If this doesn’t give you a genuine appreciation of Rahane’s intense work ethic, his response to how he improved his slip fielding will. Pujara even hailed him as the best fielder after Rahul Dravid in the slips, high praise indeed.

“Initially, I dropped a lot of catches and as a result I used to get shifted from one position to another which hurt me a lot. The last time we toured Sri Lanka [in 2015], I told the fielding coach that I would take 100 catches in every practice session to improve my slip fielding,” he said.

Not to be left behind, he then asked Pujara about how he maintains concentration for long periods of time and keeps notching up big scores.

“I got my first triple hundred in Under-14 and everything started from there, I played for U-19 and then Ranji Trophy where I played for Saurashtra, so I always felt if you need to win a four-day game, you need to score big. I feel that hundred is not enough in a longer format and if you can score 150 or 200 then why not go for it.” Pujara said.

Two of a kind, indeed.