In order to regain his form, veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara decided to feature in the Ranji Trophy 2022 but his struggle with the bat continued as he recorded a four-ball duck on Day 3 of Saurashtra’s clash against Mumbai in Ahmedabad.

With India’s Test squad selection around the corner for the home series against Sri Lanka, Pujara’s duck might hamper his chance to make it into the national side.

The two-match Test series between India and Sri Lanka is due to be played in Mohali (March 4-8) and Bengaluru (March 12-16).

Pujara was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by debutant Mohit Avasthi, who ran through Saurashtra’s top-order in their first innings.

The defending champions are struggling at 126/5 at the Lunch break on Day 3, with Sheldon Jackson (27*) and Prerak Mankad (24*) unbeaten at the crease.

Earlier, Mumbai had declared their innings on 544/7. Sarfaraz Khan starred with the bat for Mumbai, scoring 275 while seasoned campaigner Ajinkya Rahane slammed 129 to bolster his chances of making it into the Indian Test team for Sri Lanka series.