Cheteshwar Pujara, who is yet to play a match in the Asia Cup, on Saturday practiced hard along with Varun Aaron ahead of the must-win clash against Pakistan even as the other members remained in the team hotel.
Bowling coach Joe Dawes was there to assist the duo as the former paceman first helped out Aaron, who bowled at a dummy batsman, before giving catching practice to both the Indian cricketers.
Pujara had only three bowlers, provided by the BCB, for his practice session. But the hard-working Indian did not mind as he slogged under the sun for about an hour.
Pujara also showed a fine gesture gifting the net bowlers with some of his team India gear before obliging them with autographs.
Pujara played classical drives in full flow and also tried to use his feet more often, showing positive intent.
With the Indian middle order not showing the right temperament in absence of Dhoni, Pujara is seen as the most likely change to the line-up to bring stability in their must-win match against Pakistan in Mirpur on Sunday.
If he’s drafted into the side, it will be a testing time for Pujara as he would have to reinvent himself to fit into the one-day scheme of things.
Boasting a T20I strike rate of 104.66 from 34 matches, the Saurashtra run batsman who has played only two ODIs has already shown his intent in the shortest version of the game.
Meanwhile, Pakistani team had a practice session under their new cricket consultant Zaheer Abbas this morning.
Pakistan and India find themselves in the same position after recording one win and a loss each.
