India’s Test specialist, Cheteshwar Pujara has opened up on his motivation ahead of his milestone 100th Test, saying his passion has become his profession. Pujara will be surpassing the landmark 100 Test when India will be hosting Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi.
During a recent chat with ESPNcricinfo, Cheteshwar Pujara said his passion has become his profession, adding that he does not need any kind of motivation to do well in cricket.
India’s Test specialist explained, “It’s the love for the game. My passion has become my profession. I never dreamt of doing anything else apart from playing cricket. I don’t need any kind of motivation to do well. And it’s not just about international cricket. If you look at my performances in games at whatever level – club, state, county, country – no one can question my commitment. I hate losing.”
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Pujara, who is known for his concentration on the pitch, said he practices yoga, which has helped with his concentration immensely.
Elaborating on the same, Cheteshwar Pujara said, “Yoga has helped me immensely in the last several years, and I’ve been doing it regularly. That has also helped me improve my concentration. For me, when I’m batting out there in the middle, I try and keep my mind blank, I try and just focus on what I have to do. And to do that you need to also forget what the bowler will do, because in cricket you have to be in the present, you have to look at the ball and let your instinct follow.”
The 35-year-old said he will be focused on doing his job for the team, adding that he will be focused on the next target after completing 100 Tests.
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Talking about the landmark game, Cheteshwar Pujara said, “Yes, it will be my 100th Test match, but you still have a job to do for the team and you focus on that a bit more. It is similar to batting: when you reach the hundred, you start again. Sometimes you want to score a double hundred. Here it is not like that – you can’t reach 200 Test matches. But you move on to the next target.”
