Team India cricketer Rohit Sharma shared a moment involving Cheteshwar Pujara and Australian spinner Nathan Lyon during the 2023 Test series against Australia. The 38-year-old batter said the India national cricket team aimed to unsettle Lyon and accelerate scoring to prepare for a declaration.

Ahead of the third Test in Indore, India were leading the series 2-0. The home team was bowled out for just 109 in their first innings but managed to restrict Australia to 197. Cheteshwar Pujara and Axar Patel’s partnership frustrated the Indian captain, who was caught on camera visibly upset in the dressing room.

We Wanted to Get Some Runs Quickly – Rohit Sharma

At the launch of The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife, written by Cheteshwar Pujara’s wife, Puja, Rohit shared a story from the 2023 Test series against Australia. Rohit felt that Lyon wasn’t effective enough to justify keeping a close mid-on fielder on a turning pitch.

“We wanted to get Nathan Lyon off the track a little bit. We wanted to get some runs quickly. We probably were looking at declaring or something. We were like… ‘no, something needs to change now. Maybe, a message would do good’. The entire time, he was bowling with mid-on up. I was like, he’s not that good of a bowler to keep mid-on up. I know it was a challenge, the pitch was turning square but we needed to get runs quickly. So I had to send Ishan,” Rohit said.

Rohit Sharma sent Ishan Kishan with a clear message urging the batters to speed up the scoring. Cheteshwar Pujara hit a rare six off Nathan Lyon over mid-on, leaving the dressing room in splits. The India No. 3 batter went on to score 59 runs from 142 balls. However, India lost the Test by nine wickets.

I Would Stop Him There Only! – Rohit Sharma on Ignoring Dressing Room Messages

Rohit Sharma admitted that batters, including himself, tend to ignore messages sent from the dressing room. He said that when a teammate approaches with a message, players usually know the reason even before it’s conveyed.

“It’s one thing that we send messages. The most important thing is.. sometimes what batters do is whenever someone comes out with a message, we know exactly why he’s there. So I would stop him there only!” said the former India Test captain.

Rohit Sharma Retired from Test Cricket After Decade-Long Career

Rohit Sharma officially retired from Test cricket last month via a social media post, ending a decade-long red-ball career that began with a memorable century on debut against the West Indies in 2013.

While Rohit has stepped away from the format, Cheteshwar Pujara remains available for Test selection. However, Pujara hasn’t featured for India since the 2023 World Test Championship final. Just days after Rohit’s announcement, Virat Kohli also announced his retirement from the format.

Rohit recently ended his IPL 2025 campaign with the Mumbai Indians. Their run ended in the second qualifier with a loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS). Rohit amassed 418 runs in 15 matches at an average of 29.85 and an impressive strike rate of 149.28, including four half-centuries.

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