India's potential to be the No.1 Test team in the world, the new conditions in Jamaica and batting form were all discussed as Cheteshwar Pujara spent time with the media in Kingston on Thursday, ahead of the second Test between Virat Kohli's men and the West Indies.
The first Test was a no contest as India cantered to an innings and 92-run victory, with Kohli scoring his first ever double hundred in the process, while R Ashwin brought his all-round ability to the fore.
While the victory was largely a team effort, with several batsmen contributing, and all the bowlers, including the pacers doing their bits as well, one of the players who could not quite make an impact was Pujara. With India batting only the one innings, Pujara finished the first Test against the West Indies with just 16 runs, which came off 67 balls without a single ball, off his blade, going to the boundary.
With the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul sitting on the bench, all the Indian batsmen are under pressure to perform, more so Pujara, whose mojo from the start of his career has not quite returned. However, Pujara insisted form is not a concern for him going into the second Test match, which starts in Jamaica on Saturday, against the West Indies, while revealing he has the new coach Anil Kumble's backing.
"I am not worried (about my place in the playing XI)," Pujara told reporters. "Overall I have been batting well.
"Even in the South Africa series (played at home), there have been good scores and some good batting on challenging wickets. So, at times you have to be realistic and see the contribution without seeing whether I am getting hundreds or big double hundreds. It's always about contributing to the team's success.
"At the same time I realised that I played a bad shot in the last Test when I was looking good. I did the hard work in the first session when the ball was moving.
"Things though remain very simple. I always have to contribute and play with responsibility. I have spoken with Anil Kumble too, and he told me a few things about my batting. Most importantly, he told me he was happy with the contributions I have made in the past and is positive about the way I am currently batting."
As long as Kohli continues to bat like he did in Antigua, all the rest of the Indian batsmen will be able to ride on their skipper's coat-tails, but if India are thinking long-term, they do need more consistency from their batsmen, particularly if they continue to go with the five-bowler theory.
Knowing Kohli and Kumble, neither will settle for anything less than a 4-0 whitewash against the West Indies, before setting their eyes on the challenges at home, where they play New Zealand, England and Australia.
"The first aim is to win the series and obviously we would like to win all the Tests here," Pujara added. "But we are taking it one match at a time and we will be focusing on winning this one.
"We have a positive environment and all the guys are charged up for this match. Going ahead we want to be the No 1 Test team in the world too."
A green pitch has been predicted at Sabina Park as the West Indies try to even the odds a little, but Pujara insisted India are not too concerned over the conditions.
"I haven't played a game here, but looking at the wicket at present, it is difficult to predict what sort of pitch we will get here," Pujara said. "Overall as a team, we have been playing good cricket and that is what we will look to do.
"We won't worry too much about the wicket and I think if we play to our potential there is a good chance of winning the series."
With the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul sitting on the bench, all the Indian batsmen are under pressure to perform, more so Pujara, whose mojo from the start of his career has not quite returned. However, Pujara insisted form is not a concern for him going into the second Test match, which starts in Jamaica on Saturday, against the West Indies, while revealing he has the new coach Anil Kumble's backing.
