Something is special about Cheteshwar Pujara. Something which makes us feel comfortable whenever he is batting. He has such a lazy style, as if he doesn’t feel any pressure what so ever. He is the definition of consistency and calmness. It’s not what makes him similar to Rahul Dravid or Steve Waugh but what makes him different from others. All of them have had solid technique, amazing temperament, habit of scoring big centuries, and they all were trusted with responsibility. It might be too early to compare him with the likes of such greats, but he has all the ingredients needed to prepare a mouth-watering, run scoring machine. His record is phenomenal and he creates an impact every time he comes to bat.
To justify his credibility as a Test batsman, we should look at his record since his debut.
In the 67 innings he played in 40 Test matches (the 40th match still in progress), he has scored 10 centuries. He has an amazing average of over 49.50 and this is just the beginning for him. But his importance in the top order cannot be determined by his stats. His nine centuries really doesn’t give us the exact amount of impact he had. Out of the 10 centuries he scored, he has two double centuries, two 150’s and an innings of 145*. And one interesting fact is that India won six matches out of the nine matches in which Cheteshwar Pujara scored a century (the 10th match being still in progress).
Another interesting fact about Pujara is that he averages above 40 against all the teams except South Africa. And he scored centuries against all the opposition’s he played against. That’s a rare scenario in cricket these days. Virat kohli has not been able to do that as of now. And now you can get the seriousness of the situation.
He is an important jigsaw piece, a loyal pawn, salt to any dish and all in all an important and necessary player for the Indian cricket team. His ability is beyond imagination, he has stamina of a war horse, fitness issues has been taken care of, he is as cool as ice and he is a reliable player for the captain, just like Rahul Dravid was for Saurav Ganguly. His career is yet to start and he has many milestones to overcome. Serious business to be taken care of!
