Cheteshwar Pujara Recalls Josh Hazlewood Refused To Bowl To Him In CSK Nets, Reveals Reason

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara revealed a light-hearted moment involving Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood during their time together at Chennai Super Kings (CSK), recalling how the pacer jokingly refused to bowl to him in the nets after battling him endlessly in Test cricket. Having spent hours facing Hazlewood during India's memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumphs in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21, Pujara shared the humorous exchange from his stint with CSK in the IPL. "During the Australia series in 2018 and 2021, I played a lot against Josh Hazlewood. Then I got picked by CSK. The first time I went to bat in the nets, Hazlewood refused to bowl to me. He said, 'I won't bowl to him.' Even though he was my teammate, he refused.

"He joked that he had bowled to me far too much over the previous few months before the IPL, so he wasn't going to bowl to me again. He was kidding, but he actually didn't bowl to me," said Pujara on JioHotstar's series Cheeky Singles.

Reflecting on his early IPL career, Pujara, who played 103 Tests for India, also recalled experiencing a "fanboy moment" when meeting Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner and actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan. However, he noted that team culture and cricketing development remain a player's primary priorities over celebrity presence.

"I started with KKR. Shah Rukh Khan was the owner there. When I met him for the first time, I definitely had that fanboy moment. But when you think about cricket, you can't think, 'Just because Shah Rukh Khan is the owner, I want to stay here.'

"You want to be there because of the environment the franchise creates, the opportunity to learn from legendary players, play alongside them, and improve your cricket. That is what matters," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Cricket Chennai Super Kings Australia Cricket Team India Cricket Team Cheteshwar Pujara Josh Hazlewood