Cheteshwar Pujara

Profile

Even before he made his international debut for India, Cheteshwar Pujara was touted as a batting genius capable enough of replacing the great batsman Rahul Dravid, and was seen as one of the most promising talents in the country.

Pujara was a prolific run-machine in every grade of cricket since childhood and starred in India’s Under-19 World Cup campaign in 2006. After a successful 2007-08 Ranji season, the Saurashtra lad was captured by the Kolkata for the inaugural IPL in 2008, followed by the Bangalore. Two years later, the youngster was already representing India in whites, scoring a gritty 72 against Australia in a fourth-innings run chase. However, he was unfortunate to miss out an entire year in 2011 due to a knee injury. The youngster is known to have a huge appetite for runs, evident from the number of triple centuries he has to his name at the domestic level. The 2012 Test against a visiting New Zealand will be forever etched in memory as he scored his maiden century amid huge cheer and support from his fans.

Pujara’s strengths are his high levels of concentration and his ability to grind opposition bowlers. He is equally strong on both sides of the wicket and in the T20 age; he refreshingly has a technique suited to the longer format.

Fast Facts

• Cheteshwar Pujara is the son of former Ranji player Arvind Pujara.
• He was the highest run-scorer in the 2006 Under-19 WC with 349 runs coming at an average of 116.
• Pujara smashed a triple century against Baroda in the Under-14 level and also made a double ton against the England Under-19 team.
• He holds the unique distinction of hitting three triple centuries within a span of one month.
• In fewer than 50 first class matches, Pujara scored 14 centuries at an average of 60.

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Career

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