Cheteshwar Pujara reveals how Anil Kumble’s advice helped him tackle Nathan Lyon

Former India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has revealed how wise words from ex-India coach Anil Kumble helped him tackle the dangerous Australia spinner Nathan Lyon in a more effective way.
Kumble was the Indian head coach in 2016-2017, overseeing important series against West Indies.

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Australia, England, and the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. While his tenure remained a short one, Pujara fondly remembers him for his valuable feedback and tweaks to his game.

“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. 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,” Pujara told Indian Express.

Pujara went on to say that Kumble helped him in all parts of life, beyond 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.

Duncan Fletcher praised my technique: Cheteshwar Pujara.

Notably, Cheteshwar Pujara’s Indian Test debut came under the guidance of Gary Kirsten as head coach and he flourished at the no. 3 spot under the guidance of Duncan Fletcher. Pujara lauded the work done by Gary Kirsten and also 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.

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Cheteshwar Pujara called time on his India career this month after 103 Tests and more than 7000 runs to his name with 19 centuries.

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