Pujara Urges Young IPL Stars To Build Solid Base

Cricket can make a teenager famous before he has learnt how to be famous. One big IPL innings, one viral clip, and suddenly the phone never stops buzzing.

That is the part Cheteshwar Pujara wants young Indian cricketers to understand. Talent opens the door quickly now. Staying inside that room takes far more work.

Pujara, who played 103 Tests for India and built his name on patience, spoke about the new generation with unusual clarity. His message was simple. The IPL gives instant visibility, but only a strong game survives scrutiny.

Pujara’s warning for young stars

Pujara named players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre while speaking about India’s next wave. These are players growing up in a very different cricket market.

Earlier, a young cricketer could develop away from the camera. Now, every innings becomes data. Every weakness goes into a video file.

Pujara said bowlers and analysts now study old clips to find flaws. That means a batter cannot live only on hand-eye skill. He needs a solid base.

This is where Pujara’s own career gives weight to his words. His Test record reads 7,195 runs, 19 hundreds, and endless hours of resistance. He knows the difference between a good patch and a career.

For Suryavanshi, Pujara’s challenge is clear. If he can keep producing for the next 5 seasons, he can move from promising to truly serious.

That is the real test in modern cricket. Not one auction price. Not one social media storm. The test is whether a young player can keep improving after everyone starts watching.

India must remain the dream

Pujara also pushed back against a quiet shift in ambition. For young players, the IPL matters. It brings money, pressure, crowds, and national attention.

But Pujara said the bigger dream must remain playing for Team India. More than that, young players should aim to win trophies for the country.

That sounds old-fashioned only if you ignore the calendar. India will keep playing World Cups, in both ODI and T20 formats. Selection battles will only get sharper.

For a young batter or bowler, franchise cricket can build a career. International cricket still defines it. That line has not vanished, even if it sometimes looks blurred.

Pujara’s point also lands in the selection room. India cannot pick players only because they are young. It also cannot keep seniors only because they have past medals.

He said performance must decide selection. If a younger player is doing better and a senior is not improving, India must look at options.

But he also made a fair point about experience. If senior players are still performing, dropping them only because of age makes little sense.

That is the balance India keeps chasing. Youth brings energy. Seniors bring scars, calm, and match memory. Good teams need both.

IPL pressure is now a classroom

Pujara rejected the easy argument that the IPL has weakened Test cricket. He did not treat T20 as the villain in the room.

His logic is practical. India found major fast-bowling talent through the IPL pathway. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami all grew in visibility through the league.

That matters because Indian cricket once worried about fast-bowling depth. Today, the country can talk about pace reserves with real confidence.

The IPL also exposes players to pressure very early. A 20-year-old can bowl the final over before 50,000 people. A young batter can face international stars with a chase on the line.

Pujara said the 10-team structure has made the tournament tougher. Earlier, a few teams dominated the top 4 race. Now, most matches feel tighter.

That is good for Indian cricket. Pressure does not arrive gently in international sport. The IPL gives young players a rough rehearsal.

For a player from a smaller centre, this can change everything. He gets coaching, analysis, money, and attention. He also gets criticism, trolling, and constant comparison.

That is why Pujara keeps returning to the word foundation. In simple terms, it means technique, fitness, temperament, and the hunger to learn.

Without that, early fame becomes a trap. With it, the IPL can become a launchpad.

Seniors, form and Mumbai’s puzzle

Pujara also spoke about Mumbai Indians, whose form has raised familiar questions. He accepted that their performance had dipped, but did not sound alarmed.

He pointed to their strong win against Lucknow as a sign of recovery. His reading was that Mumbai’s players need to sit together and sharpen their plans.

That is a very cricketer-like answer. Outside the dressing room, fans see panic. Inside, teams usually look for roles, match-ups, and timing.

Mumbai have always carried big names and big expectations. When they lose, the fall feels louder. When their core clicks, they can change a season fast.

Pujara said sometimes players simply go out of form. Once they return to touch, stopping them becomes difficult.

That may sound obvious, but it is often how T20 works. A player can look finished for 3 matches, then win 2 games in 5 overs.

For fans, that creates impatience. For selectors and coaches, it demands cooler judgment. The trick is knowing whether a player is unlucky, rusty, or truly declining.

Pujara’s larger argument fits here too. Selection cannot be emotional. It must respect form, role, and the team’s future.

Commentary box gives new view

Pujara is now also spending time in the commentary box for JioHotstar’s Hindi digital feed, Championswali Commentary. That role asks a very different skill from batting for 5 hours.

On the field, Pujara was never known as a loud cricketer. In commentary, silence is not an option.

He said talking about cricket itself is not difficult. The harder part is studying every player well enough to explain him to viewers.

That means looking at how a player has performed earlier, how he plays now, and where he is improving. It is analysis, not just chatter.

This is also where fans benefit. Former players can often spot tiny shifts early. A trigger movement, a release point, or a nervous field change can tell a story.

Pujara’s move behind the microphone also says something about modern cricket culture. The game does not end at the boundary rope anymore.

Players become analysts. Fans become tacticians. A young cricketer’s innings gets examined from every angle within minutes.

That can feel harsh. But it also gives Indian cricket a sharper eye. The best players will learn to live with that attention.

Pujara’s message, stripped to its core, is not about slowing young players down. It is about helping them last. Indian cricket has enough flash now. What it needs, especially from its brightest teenagers, is staying power.