Rated highly for his impeccable skills and unmatched determination - Cheteshwar Pujara is the backbone of Indian batting line-up when it comes to cricket's purest format. Since his debut in red ball cricket in 2010 versus Australia, the Rajkot-born batsman as grown leaps and bounds as his career progressed. With his outstanding technique and ability to bat for long hours without losing concentration, Pujara has been a thorn in the flesh of oppositions. With an impressive career average of more than 50 in Test cricket, Pujara is presently rated among the best number three batsmen in the world while playing in whites. Mostly compared with Rahul Dravid for his sheer sense of determination and will power to bat for long hours without breaking any sweat, Pujara has carved a niche for himself in the cricketing world.
Despite being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the first edition of Indian Premier League (2008), Pujara never managed to leave a mark in white ball cricket and largely due to his reputation as an exclusive Test player. After a forgettable tour to England in 2014/15, the right-handed batsman spent some extended sessions in English County cirucit with teams - Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.
Major teams: India, Derbyshire, India A, India Green, India Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Nottinghamshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Saurashtra, Saurashtra Under-16s, Saurashtra Under-19s, Yorkshire
Playing role: Top-order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak
Virat Kohli's Test retirement has posed an immediate question for India - Who will bat at number four? Is Shubman Gill really an option? Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has opened up on this possibility but reckons Gill is better off facing the new ball.
Cheteshwar Pujara analysed Shardul Thakur's spell against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing IPL 2025. The all-rounder clinched a four-wicket haul in the match as Lucknow Super Giants won the match by five wickets.
Out of favour India batter Cheteshwar Pujara is hoping to return to the Indian team during the upcoming five-match series against England. He added that the batting unit needs to deliver for India to win the England series.
Gujarat defeated Saurashtra by an innings and 98 runs to qualify for the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. They will face the winner of Jammu and Kashmir vs Kerala in the top four of the premier domestic red-ball tournament.
Cheteshwar Pujara played a key role in India's two series wins in Australia in 2018/19 and 2020/21. He has revealed an exchange with former Australia opening batter David Warner during the 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"The batters played too late, with most of them getting out because of their inexperience with the pink ball. They should have discussed in the team meeting when to score runs and when to play defensively," Cheteshwar Pujara said after Day 2's play in Adelaide.
Rohit Sharma missed the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth due to the birth of his second child. In his absence, Jasprit Bumrah led India to a convincing 295-run win at the Optus Stadium.
KL Rahul has become the latest Indian to score 3000 runs in Test cricket. Rahul scaled the milestone in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. Let's look at the active Indian players who have scored more than 3000 Test runs.
Former Australia captain Tim Paine talked about India's chances in the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy the last one in Australia 2020-21 and his memories of the same. After losing the series opener in Adelaide, India had come back to win the series 2-1.
India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara is currently plying his trade in the ongoing edition of Ranji Trophy for Saurashtra. He has smashed a brilliant double-century in the clash against Chhattisgarh to create and break records.
Team India's squad for the first of the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh was announced on Sunday. The selectors opted not to pick a few players and it seems the doors are closed for some of them. Here are three players who might be unable to return to the Test team.
Ajinkya Rahane-led Mumbai concluded their Ranjit Trophy 2024 group stage campaign with a huge win over Assam on Saturday. The experienced pacer Shardul Thakur took ten wickets across two innings and Shivam Dube recorded an unbeaten hundred in the first innings.
After spending more than five months on the sidelines due to injury, the young Mumbai opener made a sensational return to competitive cricket by smashing a 159 off 185 against Chhattisgarh in the Ranji Trophy 2024 match on Friday, February 9.
Shubman Gill's form batting at number three has the point of discussion now after his twin failures in the first Test against England in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, former India head coach has come up with a massive statement related to Gill linking his fortune to Cheteshwar Pujara's in Test cricket.
With Virat Kohli pulling out of the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons, the Indian team will be without either of the trio of former captain, ex-vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara in a red-ball game for the country for the first time in 12 years.
Virat Kohli's withdrawal from the Test squad for the first two games against England has thrown a spanner in the works for the Indian team as the former captain was the best batter for the side in South Africa series. The BCCI is going to name a replacement soon as Kohli tends to his family.
With the upcoming five-match Test series against England in sight, Indian red-ball veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteswhar Pujara, and in-form Shreyas Iyer are in focus in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 round two fixtures starting on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored an unbeaten double-hundred for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy clash against Jharkhand. Pujara has hit his 17th double ton in first-class cricket. His knock comes ahead of India's Test squad announcement for the England series.
Jaydev Unadkat-led Saurashtra kicked off their title defence by bowling out Jharkhand on just 142 runs in the Ranji Trophy 2024 opener in Rajkot and then Cheteshwar Pujara's 157* off 238 balls helped them score a total of 406/4 on Day 2.
The out-of-favour India batter has not been picked for India's two-match Test tour of South Africa 2023-24. He has been sitting on the sidelines since India's heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final of the World Test Championship 2023.