Cheteshwar Pujara brought the curtains down on his impressive India career on Sunday (August 24). A pillar of India’s Test team for over a decade, Pujara’s calm presence and unwavering focus made him one of the most dependable batters of his generation.
The 37-year-old represented India in 103 Tests, scoring 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 with the help of 19 hundreds and 35 half-centuries. The highlight of his career was the critical role he played in India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumphs on Australian soil in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Pujara’s last appearance for India was in 2023 during the World Test Championship Final against Australia at The Oval. Subsequently, he fell out of favour with the national selectors.
Despite not being part of India's Test set-up, Pujara continued playing Ranji Trophy for Saurashtra and county cricket for Sussex. However, he was ignored for the challenging tours of Australia and England.
Reflecting on Pujara’s career, former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said that life wasn't easy for the veteran batter on the field.
Manjrekar went on to claim that had Pujara travelled to England for the recently concluded series, he could have scored a triple century, considering the batting-friendly conditions and quality of the host bowlers.
"Had he (Cheteshwar Pujara) gone to England this time around, the kind of bowling attack England had, the pitches that were there in that series, Pujara, even at this stage, would have ended up getting 300," Manjrekar said in a video shared on his Instagram account.
“A couple of times, he was dropped from the Indian team, and one comeback that he made was in Sri Lanka, and he had to come back into the playing XI as an opener. And guess what he did? He batted right through the innings. That is Pujara for you, just unbelievable. A very likeable person, no matter what. The career wasn't easy, and for a defensive batter, the kind of grappling that he did, life was tough for him on the cricket field, but he always had this very pleasant smile on his face,” he added.
Manjrekar described Pujara’s calm and composed batting style as meditative, likening him to a monk at the crease.
"Naam mein hi puja hai (There is prayer in the name itself). Every time he was out on the cricket field and batting, especially, it seemed like ek lambi puja woh kar raha hai (he is doing a long prayer). It was like he was meditating with the bat in hand. I often called him a monk who likes to bat because it seemed like nothing rattled him," he remarked.
Beyond his international exploits, Cheteshwar Pujara built a monumental legacy in domestic cricket. In 278 first-class appearances, he aggregated 21,301 runs at an average of 51.82, including 66 centuries and 81 fifties.
A true red-ball specialist, Pujara also left a notable mark in List A cricket, scoring 5759 runs from 130 matches with 16 tons and 34 half-centuries. However, he got only five matches to prove his worth in ODIs for India.
