Don't know if Pujara can make it in T20, says Brett Lee

Australian bowling great Brett Lee questioned whether India Test opener Cheteshwar Pujara had what it took to adapt and make his mark in a format as short as T20.

Pujara, who went unsold for six years, was signed by the Chennai Super Kings at the IPL auction in February. The 33-year-old, known to take his time to pick up runs, last played a T20 match in 2019 for Saurastra during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he even scored his maiden T20 century.

Appearing on SportsAdda's T20 Crazy show, Lee expressed his concern over Pujara's run-scoring pace. "You can look at two different aspects. Firstly, he is a terrific cricketer – there is no doubt about his ability, no doubt about his technique or his determination to bat time. But when you look at the other side of things, you've also got to think that this isn't Test cricket, this is T20s. It's over in 90 minutes, 20 overs."

Read | Pujara says he is not a power-hitter but will rely on timing like Virat, Rohit in IPL

Lee, however, added that Pujara "has a lot to offer" and could score runs under pressure. "What we've seen recently in the Australian series is that he loves to bat so look it's an interesting call. I'm a big fan of Pujara, I think he has a lot to offer. But let's see if he can make it in this format," Lee said.

Pujara, who once used to believe that playing in T20s might spoil his Test technique, said that he had overcome those apprehensions.