Players struggle to handle pressure when they start playing international cricket: Pujara

India’s Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara has said that he does yoga and mediation to stay positive. The right-handed batsman added that once an individual is in a negative zone, everything around him becomes negative. 

"Once you are in a negative zone, everything around you becomes negative. I do yoga and try meditation, I do my prayers everyday which helps me to remain in a positive mindset," he said in a Youtube interview on 'Mind Matters’.

Pujara further explained that in his earlier days, he wasn’t really able to handle the pressure but things have changed now. 

"There was a time when I felt I cannot handle the pressure. When I had issues in my younger days, I used to go to my mother and cried in front of her," he said. 

Pujara was recently bought by CSK in the mini auctions held in Chennai earlier this year but the right-hander admitted that he used to get disappointed when he went unsold for so many years before finally getting picked. 

"It was tough, it's never easy to be left out and to be unsold in the IPL. It hurt me,” he said. 

Talking about shifting mindset from domestic to international cricket, players do find it tough to handle the pressure and should consult sports psychologists. 

"I have seen many domestic players finding it difficult to handle pressure when they go to international level,” Pujara said.