Ashwin has started his own YouTube channel where he discusses about a lot of things from on and off the field. From cricket to dressing room gossip, this new YouTube channel is the talk of the town. Here, he was having a discussion with India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour.
Watch the full video here:
The conversation about Pujara began with Ashwin asking the batting coach whether Pujara will ever hit an off-spinner over the top by stepping out of the crease. Rathour laughed it off and replied, “Work-in-progress. I'm trying to convince him that at least once go over the top. He is still not convinced, he is giving me great reasons.” Ashwin replied to this comment in a hilarious manner. He said that if Pujara goes over the top against spinners like Moen Ali in the Test series with England, he will shave half his moustache and come to play. “This is an open challenge,” he said.
"That's a great challenge to put across. Let's hope that he takes it up. I don't think he will take it up," Rathour said.
Everything was being said in a fun manner. Cheteshwar Pujara is often criticized for his defensive approach while batting. Recently he was seen in the Test series against Australia where he was batting like a warrior. He took a lot of body blows and held one end with sheer determination. Rathour defended Pujara and said, “I think no praise is enough for the way he batted in the last Test match. The way he responded to all those short balls and all injuries that he had.”
Ashwin said that the amount of respect Pujara gives to bowlers like Nathan Lyon would make people think that he is not able to make batsman bat like Pujara.
Anyway, the England series is all set to go underway from the 5th of February and it will be interesting to see if Pujara accepts this ‘open challenge’ by Ashwin.