Veteran cricketers Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja were felicitated by the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) at an event in Rajkot on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. This was done a day before the third Test between India and England of the ongoing five-match series at the newly named Niranjan Shah Stadium in the city.
Pujara and Jadeja represented Saurashtra in first-class cricket and were teammates even before playing for the Indian team. The 2 batters recalled their time of playing together from the under-14 level for Saurashtra.
"I still remember when I started learning this game. This is my home town and when I first played for Saurashtra at the U14 level, Ravindra and I were together. I got selected for the U14 team. I was sad that I was going away from home and that's when I didn't want to play cricket as I was missing my family. Being a kid, I couldn't stay away from my family. That's how the journey started," Pujara said at the ceremony.
"I really wanted to play this game and that's how the journey started, and it has been remarkable for me. There are many teammates here and coaches who have been a part of my journey. So I would like to thank all of them. It's been a great journey and SC has progressed immensely over the years. There have been wonderful memories over here. It's been a great journey so far,” Pujara added.
Pujara made his Test debut for India in 2010 and has played 103 matches, scoring 19 hundreds and 35 fifties in his 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 and a highest score of 206*. He also played 5 ODIs, scoring 51 runs.
On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja is the no.1 ranked all-rounder in Tests and is an important part of the Indian team in all three formats. He has played 69 Tests, 197 ODIs, and 66 T20Is since making his India debut in 2009. He has 553 international wickets and over 6000 runs.
"I think we played together in the U14 tournament. I think if I am not wrong, we played in Pune, right? Pujara has a great memory, so I think he knows everything. In the Ranji Trophy, I scored a triple hundred against Railway. That will be one of my memories as a batter. I took many fifers on this ground as well as the old one. There have been plenty of memories with Pujara and Saurashtra Cricket Association," Jadeja said in the felicitation ceremony.
(India Today inputs)
