Cheteshwar Pujara's Rare Outburst After India's Shock Loss To South Africa: "Cannot Be Digested"

In a rare sight, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara lost his cool after the shock defeat to South Africa in the 1st Test in Kolkata on Sunday. Known for his calm and composed demeanour, Pujara had a meltdown on-air, labelling India's 30-run defeat as "unacceptable". While it is no secret that the team is going through a transition phase, following the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, the 37-year-old played down that notion, saying that India should not be losing games at home considering the talent pool.

"I don't agree with this. Transition ki wajah se Bharatiya team Bharat mein haare, woh digest nahi ho sakta (The Indian team losing in India because of the transition cannot be digested)," Pujara said during a discussion on Star Sports.

"India lost in England and Australia due to the transitional phase, which is still acceptable. But the talent and potential that India has, look at the first-class records of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar and Shubman Gill. Despite those first-class records, if we lose in India, it means that something is wrong," he added.

Pujara, however, suggested that India's over reliance on rank turning pitch cost them the match in Kolkata.

"India had a better chance to win this Test if the match had been played on a good wicket. How do you define Tests? On which wickets will your percentage to win be higher? That percentage drops on such wickets and the opposition becomes equal to you," explained Pujara.

Sunday's was India's fourth loss at home in the last six Tests including the 0-3 debacle against New Zealand on turning tracks at Pune and Mumbai last year. The loss has reignited the debate on Indian batters' ability on tracks that offer turn.

(With PTI Inputs)

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