A synonym to the old school form of the game, Cheteshwar Pujara is in the traditional mould of a sound Test batsman rarely seen in the modern era.
PANAJI
An unflappable temperament and a water-tight technique has been a double-edged trait in the format he pays his bills in – Test cricket. Though he may be in imperious form of late, he has more often than not made a scapegoat for scoring runs at snail’s pace than anything else.
Ironical to state the least, the Rajkot-based top-order batsman was part of a significant partnership that gave India a fighting chance to win the penultimate Test match in Ranchi on their recent 4-Test home rubber that they eventually won 2-1 against Australia. But he was subjugated to critics stating he ate up too many balls in the process of completing yet another Test double. While overlooking the fact, he helped India overcome a difficult situation and play a part of entertaining a scenario wherein they could think of a victory, the other side of the coin weighed heavier influenced to the fact it gave the bowls much lesser time to get ten wickets to win the match.
Rewinding back time, ahead of the lengthy 2016-17 home season where India were to play 13 Tests, beginning with a three-Test series against New Zealand from September 22, the then newly appointed India Head Coach, Anil Kumble came heavily in favour to support the beleaguered Test-branded top-order batsman.
It has to be recalled that Pujara lost his spot in the playing XI for the third Test in St. Lucia during India’s tour of the West Indies last year, Kumble’s first series in-charge, after making 16 and 46 in his previous two innings. His replacement Rohit Sharma made 9 and 41 in that match, and both he and Pujara were included for the final Test in Trinidad, where only 22 overs were possible and India didn’t get to bat.
“With modern cricket, everybody looks at the strike rate rather than what that particular player brings to that table,” Kumble had told ESPNcricinfo. “Pujara is a very important cog in our wheel and when he plays at No. 3, he is a very important player. Yes, there are times when he misses out and Rohit comes in. That’s when we probably feel we need someone lower down to accelerate. That’s why in one of the Tests in West Indies, he missed out,” the Team India Head Coach had added. “The one good thing about the team is that all 17 who were in the squad were all available to play and all of them show that intent. If they are playing, they are fine. When they are left out, yes, they are disappointed, but at the same time, they contribute in whatever way they can. Pujara, yes, the sword is always hanging on his head, which is not good. I certainly believe he is a very important player for us and he will play at No. 3, and for us to be successful, he is important to us in the short term and long term as well, Kumble had further elaborated.”
As the lengthy home stretch of 13 Tests began, Pujara hit a purple patch which continued to the end. In the ensuing 2016-17 he tallied more Test runs than any other Indian cricketer being one of three to feature in every match (the other being all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin). From 13 Test matches, he racked up 1316 runs at an impressive average of 62.67 with a monumental 202 against Australia in Ranchi as his best. Incidentally, the recently concluded season has been his best yet, with his 1316 runs tally in 22 innings only behind Australian Ricky Ponting (1483 runs) who holds the record for most Test runs in a season. Pujara’s previous best outing was in the 2012-13 season was when he aggregated 857 Test runs. Interestingly, in both these successful seasons he notched up a double hundred as is his wont – an unbeaten 206 in 2012-13 and 202 in 2016-17.
The breakthrough season for the Saurashtra star helped him eclipse the eight-year record of India discard, Gautam Gambhir for scoring the most runs in a season (1269 runs in 2008/09).
Despite, being in great nick Pujara is not part of the IPL Caravan which comes rolling across eight cities in the country each passing year in April and May. For the third consecutive season, he is left in the lurch seeking answers what more has to be done to repose the faith of an IPL franchise to play the shortest format of the game.
A year ago, Pujara was in Goa to play for his employers, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, in three successive corporate tournaments. In an exclusive to The Goan, he revealed that despite being a conventional cricketer it is very much a viable option in T20 internationals. “Look at good batsmen who are classical. Like for example, Jacques Kallis, the way he used to play in T20 format. Michael Hussey, he was a very good T20 player. Even Virat, the way he plays. Most of the time, he plays conventional shots. At the same time, you must have some options,” he had stated. He also divulged that he had been working on a few more shots, for example, having an option of a reverse sweep or sweep shot which you basically do not play in the Test format.
