Gautam Gambhir : I believe Cheteshwar Pujara will play a key role for Indian team

Virat Kohli & Co, are currently in England getting themselves ready to tackle the mighty James Anderson, world number one Test bowler and Kohli’s nemesis on the pitch. But Gambhir believes that although Kohli would be important for the Indians in the upcoming series, the onus to perform will lay on the shoulders of Saurashtra skipper, Cheteshwar Pujara.

"Cheteshwar Pujara is going to be a key member of the Indian batting line-up. I think two batters whom I have a lot of hopes from is Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay. Virat Kohli, as always will remain important for the Indians, but the performance of those two will also play a key role if India want to win."

"There are times when you got to play those gritty and ugly sessions where you just try to hold on to one end and then you can cash in once the sun is out, who better than Pujara?

"I think a lot of people might debate that he's had a very ordinary county season and all that stuff but I still think he remains an important and integral part of the Indian batting line-up. If you don't give him that confidence, it will create a very tricky situation for the Indian team," Gambhir said in an interview with Cricbuzz.

Gambhir also spoke about a much popular debate as to who should open for the Indian team against their British counterparts in the first Test. The former KKR skipper reckoned that if the Ravi Shastri and Co. want to stick to continuity they should go with the opening pair of Murali Vijay and KL Rahul.

"It's a tricky question because Shikhar Dhawan got a hundred in the last Test match but if you stick to continuity I would definitely go with KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, with Cheteshwar Pujara at three," Gambhir added.