“Put The Team First”: Cheteshwar Pujara On Virat Kohli Slowing Down To Reach 100 | Cricket News

Indian batting icon Virat Kohli reached a brand new milestone in his illustrious profession, notching up his forty eighth century in ODI cricket as India hammered Bangladesh in a World Cup 2023 match. As the cricketing fraternity celebrated Kohli’s new milestone, there have been a couple of who puzzled if Kohli slowing down to succeed in his hundred on the finish of the sport was the suitable transfer. There had been moments within the match the place his non-striking accomplice KL Rahul would even deny singles to make sure Kohli get the strike. Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, nonetheless, wasn’t pleased with this strategy.

“As much I wanted Virat Kohli to score that hundred, you have to keep in mind, you want to finish the game as early as possible. You want your Net Run Rate to be at the top. If you are in a position where you are fighting for the Net Run Rate, then you don’t want to look back and say ‘you could have done that’,” Cheteshwar Pujara informed ESPN Cricinfo.

Pujara is of the opinion that Kohli and different Indian gamers ought to be placing the tem first. As far as private milestones, Pujara feels it is the mindset of the participant that additionally issues.

“That’s where I feel that as a collective decision, maybe you have to sacrifice a bit. You want to look at the team, you want to put the team first, that’s how I look at it. You want your milestone, but not at the cost of the team. As a player, you always have a choice. But some players feel if they get a hundred, it helps them in the next game. So it depends on what kind of mindset you have,” he added.

Australia legend Matthew Hayden additionally opined on the topic, saying kind can chunk the participant if he begins flirting with it.

“My initial reaction was he has earned the right to get to his hundred. You have got to be very careful in these tournaments. These things matter. The great Ian Bishop often talks about this, these things matter. The sporting gods are sinister-like, if you start flirting with that sort of form, then it can bit you. But it’s a decision that they both took. I don’t really have a problem with that.” Hayden stated.