Rated highly for his impeccable skills and unmatched determination - Cheteshwar Pujara is the backbone of Indian batting line-up when it comes to cricket's purest format. Since his debut in red ball cricket in 2010 versus Australia, the Rajkot-born batsman as grown leaps and bounds as his career progressed. With his outstanding technique and ability to bat for long hours without losing concentration, Pujara has been a thorn in the flesh of oppositions. With an impressive career average of more than 50 in Test cricket, Pujara is presently rated among the best number three batsmen in the world while playing in whites. Mostly compared with Rahul Dravid for his sheer sense of determination and will power to bat for long hours without breaking any sweat, Pujara has carved a niche for himself in the cricketing world. Despite being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the first edition of Indian Premier League (2008), Pujara never managed to leave a mark in white ball cricket and largely due to his reputation as an exclusive Test player. After a forgettable tour to England in 2014/15, the right-handed batsman spent some extended sessions in English County cirucit with teams - Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. Major teams: India, Derbyshire, India A, India Green, India Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Nottinghamshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Saurashtra, Saurashtra Under-16s, Saurashtra Under-19s, Yorkshire Playing role: Top-order batsman Batting style: Right-hand bat Bowling style: Legbreak
Read MoreIndian skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha and even KL Rahul were all seen at the nets.
Pujara amassed 521 runs with three centuries and earned the Man-of-the-Series award in 2018-19 series Down Under.
Dravid, who had top-scored for India in the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar series with 619 runs, said India "have got a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets in those conditions."
Ajinkya Rahane (108*) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) were among the runs but others failed to impress as India A ended Day 1 on 237/8.
India will be playing two practice matches against Australia A ahead of the anticipated series that will give Team India a chance to answer a few many questions in a bid to arrive at their perfect XI for the Border-Gavaskar series
Former West Indies international Tino Best and Pakistan's Rana Naved-ul-Hasan also provided evidence in support of Rafiq's claims "institutional racism" at the club.
Gavaskar also feels that the entire responsibility of India's batting will rest upon vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara in the absence of Kohli, who will miss the last three Tests owing to paternity leave.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who has not played competitive cricket since March, had an extensive net session here on Thursday and looked comfortable facing the fast bowlers.
Pujara believes that India's fast bowling troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami can again work up some magic like in 2018-19.
Pujara, who made his Test debut against Australia in Bengaluru on this day 10 years ago, had an impressive first outing as he scored 72 in the second innings in India's successful 207-run chase.
India are set to travel to Australia with a jumbo squad comprising 23 to 25 playing members across formats considering the requirements of the series to be played in bio-bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
IPL auctions are always "tricky" terrain and going unsold does not make Cheteshwar Pujara a frustrated cricketer as he fights the public perception of being a red-ball specialist.
Pujara was given the condition of picking himself while having only four Indians in the team.
Cheteshwar Pujara shared his experience of batting with Virat Kohli, saying that he always comes out with a positive mindset.
Indian spin great Dilip Doshi believes that Pujara deserves a spot in the ODI team.
India's Test specialist batsman Cheteshwar Pujara hit the nets on Saturday as he shared a video from the practice session.
Cheteshwar Pujara last played for India in their second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch in March.
Cheteshwar Pujara opened up on how Rahul Dravid's advice aided him in gaining clarity on his goals.
The Rajkot-based cricketer got back to training at the nets this week, three months after helping Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
Pujara was the tormentor and the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts in India's historic 2-1 win Down Under in 2018/19 tour. He scored 521 runs at 74.27 last summer with three centuries
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