BGT 2024-25: I am very happy that Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t here, says Josh Hazlewood

Perth, Nov 20 Australia fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood said he was very happy over the absence of top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara from the Indian squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, starting on November 22 in Perth.

Pujara was always the rock at number three which Australian bowlers found it hard to dislodge, as he amassed 993 runs in 11 games at an average of 47.28 in Test matches down under. Apart from scoring five fifties and three hundreds in Australia, Pujara was named Player of the Series during India's historic 2-1 win in the 2018/19 tour.

"I am very happy that Cheteshwar Pujara is not here. He is obviously someone who bats time and spends a lot of time at the crease and makes you earn his wicket every time. Has done really well in Australia on previous tours.”

“I mean there are always first-class young players coming into the team. There is so much pressure to perform in the Indian team. With so many guys nipping at the hills all the time, so overall the playing XI is a mix of unbelievable players. So it does not really matter, they are all big players," said Hazlewood in the pre-series press conference.

While acknowledging the importance of taking out Virat Kohli early, Hazlewood also stressed on Australia being prepared to tackle the likes of Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah. "Not only Kohli, but our focus is on all the players. He has found a lot of success in the past and of course will be a crucial wicket.”

“But there are other guys also like a Rishabh Pant or a Jasprit Bumrah who can be equally good with their respective skills. For that kind of batters (like Pant), it is important to have Plan B and C if things go south. It is important to have different plans apart from top of off. We also have players like Travis Head and Mitch Marsh who can take the game away."

With an element of mystery around the make-up of India’s playing eleven, especially in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, Hazlewood believes there aren’t much secrets about the players in Indian camp, owing to knowing them via the IPL.

"I don't think there's anything that you haven't seen in Test cricket before. It's going to come down to bowling on that area and batting with patience and trying to outlast them. There's no real secrets behind those closed doors of Indian sessions.”

"We've seen a lot of them. We play with them all the time (in the Indian Premier League). We play against them. There's no real secrets in cricket these days. “I’ve bowled to them for the past few days, the past few years now and they are pretty good players with pretty good records. I know they’ll find a way on whatever wicket, whatever conditions get thrown up.”

Hazlewood signed off by saying Marnus Labuschagne could be a surprise seam-up bowling option, instead of his customary leg-spin for Australia. “He's always keen to get that ball in his hand. He’s keen to bowl some bouncers, bowl length, whatever’s needed, he’ll grab it.”