Cheteshwar Pujara and the romance of Test cricket

Pujara will be playing his 100th Test match at the Ferozeshah Kotla from Friday.


Cheteshwar Pujara and the romance of Test cricket

Cheteshwar Pujara

It’s a record to feel proud of when Cheteshwar Pujara plays his 100th Test match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium near the ramparts of the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi from Friday. Modern cricket, especially the white ball format, is defined by onslaught and aggression. Lusty shots fetching fours and maximum shots as sixes are what the fans like.

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However, that does not mean there is no scope for purists or the romantic relics who have adorned the pristine format of Test cricket. In the case of Pujara, now for 13 years. One man who has stayed away from the media glare and performed quietly has been Pujara. At 35, when playing cricket is not as easy as in teens, this man from Saurashtra is certainly not one of the most dashing batsmen, err batters.

Having played in Rajkot and nearby areas, where pitches are as flat as a runway, Pujara grew up as a batsman who knew his limitations. Cricketers are defined as having their own bread-and-butter shots. In the case of Pujara, he never had anything big but the patented drive — square cut, cover drive, and on-drive. It is good Pujara never tried to emulate other big hitters around the globe who could use their upper arm power and timing to launch sixes.

His batting template has not changed in all these years, since the time he scored a double hundred in under-14. Coming from a cricket destination that was not so popular, he needed time to break into the Test squad, in 2010. Mind you, it’s his state which will be contesting the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal at more or less the same time as the second Test, which goes to show Saurashtra has been a nursery for producing cricketing talent.

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Batting in Tests is something pure. For some like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, both quintessential stroke-makers, it does not matter whether they are playing red-ball or white-ball cricket. The flow of shots will be there. Pujara has been different. He has dabbled with the Indian Premier League as well and there is a famous story about how he busted his hamstring in 2009 when the IPL was held in South Africa.

Now it comes to light, Kolkata Knight Riders mentor and owner, SRK — Shah Rukh Khan — insisted Pujara stayed back in South Africa and underwent surgery. Today, Pujara and IPL, or the short formats are pretty alien to each other. It is good, in many ways, he has focussed on the pure form and lent it more fragrance. After all, sheer longevity and scoring 7,021 Test runs have not been easy, at an average of 44.15. Stats do not define his contribution, for he has done much more than hang out there.

Related: Cheteshwar Pujara growing from strength to strength after stint in County Cricket with Sussex

For those who feel Pujara is at the fag end of his career, do not get fooled

Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara

He is a classicist, a purist, a bit in the old mould like present coach Rahul Dravid and the wristy and elegant VVS Laxman. To say that Pujara has patience would be an understatement. Before his 100th Test, a lot of interviews are coming out, readable for variety. One gets to know his persona, how he lost his mother at a young age, and how his father brought him up. Pujara shares a special relationship with the Aussies, having made his debut against them in October 2010 in Bangalore, now Bengaluru.

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To say he is gutsy would be putting it mildly. He has been part of many battles against the Aussies, home and away, and many times when he returned to the dressing room and took off his shorts, there were black and blue marks. Blood clots after taking blows. Pujara never minded it, for it’s legit for the fast bowler to use the short-pitched stuff to pepper the batsman/batter.

At the same time, Pujara has never flinched. He has been a grafter and will continue to be so till such time as Indian cricket values his utility and contributions. This generation of fans has been fed an overdose of white-ball cricket. Yet, for sheer nostalgia, a man going to play his 100th Test is special. He has many records to his name, which also includes one when he played 500 balls when the Aussies last came to India in 2017. Again, the record he broke was that of Dravid, scoring a double century.

These days, when the Indian batting, even in Tests, is all about aggression, one does need a grafter, a man in the middle who can hang in and hang on. Sadly, a man with whom Pujara had many partnerships in the past, Ajinkya Rahane is out of the Test squad. The duo has been as famous as the Jai and Veeru “jodi” in Sholay. For those who feel Pujara is at the fag end of his career, do not get fooled. He still plays hard County cricket, where his performance in 2022 for Sussex was solid.

Very recently, Pujara and his wife Puja had gone to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Capital. It goes to show, how popular Pujara still is. So what if he is not part of the white ball slam-bang circus?

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