Cheteshwar Pujara wants India to continue with the same bowling unit at Adelaide

With the first Test panning out in India’s favour at Perth, Australia will be going all guns blazing in Adelaide to try and level out the series. When one is playing Down Under, the bowling strength of the team is key and India already witnessed how much of a difference can be made if a team has the right resources in their bowling echelons.

Talking about why India shouldn’t make any changes to their bowling unit, Cheteshwar Pujara opened up to ESPNCricinfo, suggesting the key reasons why the visistors should overlook any thoughts of a change. He was extremely assertive about the fact that the bowling unit’s integrity should be paramount because of the bouncy nature of the Aussie pitches.

Pujara said, “There is no question about it (changes to the bowling side). This bowling attack has given us success. [Jasprit] Bumrah looked really good. [Mohammed] Siraj was very good. And then it was supported by Harshit. He bowled really well, you have to accept that. He was playing his first game [for India], still he ended up pitching the ball up.”

He further added, “In Australia, it's very easy to get carried away and sometimes when you look at the pace of the pitch, it offers a bit more extra bounce... But he was still looking to hit the right spot, good length, try and hit the top of off, and he has that ability.”

Pujara continued, “So I think we should carry on with the same bowling attack. And Nitish also, he had a bit of a bowl. I felt that those four seamers are proper options and along with that, Washington Sundar."

Pujji also talked about why Washington Sundar shouldn’t be dropped even though his bat didn’t talk much at Perth. Pujara stated, “He [Washington] didn't look really good when he started his bowling, but eventually he got a couple of wickets, he varied his pace, so Washy should be our spinner. Because he can bat well. The reason he was chosen in this squad is because he can bat. It will be important in the second Test match that, in case we lose a few wickets early, if the lower-middle order needs to contribute, Washington can do that role."

The second Test between India and Australia starts from December 6th. With the gap between the first Test and the second, India will be playing a two-day pink-ball warm-up Test against the Prime Minister’s XI.