Mumbai: A US-based sports website has placed India's prolific batsman Cheteshwar Pujara in its latest list of potentially good top ten investment options in sports, putting the Saurashtra player alongside the likes of Brazilian soccer star Neymar and Formula One ace Sebastian
Vettel.Under the heading "The top 10 sports pro stock options," website sportsonearth.com has stated that with Indian cricket in a state of transition with the soon-to-be retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, the 25-year-old Pujara provides a good option for potential investors linking themselves to him.
Robert Weintraub, author of the books 'The Victory Season' and 'The House That Ruth Built' and a regular writer for The New York Times and ESPN.com, has highlighted Pujara's penchant for big scores and placed him 8th in his top ten pro sports stock options list headed by 21-year-old Neymar.
"Indian cricket is in a state of transition, with the Michael Jordan of the sport, Sachin Tendulkar, retiring from competition, and the stalwart captain (and extremely well compensated) Mahendra Singh Dhoni about to turn 33," writes Weinstraub.
"The canny investor will put his money into the future of the next India captain, who stands to make a modest income on the field (Dhoni clears about $3.5 million or Rs. 21.6 crore), but rake it in when it comes to endorsements. Cheteshwar Pujara is already considered the game's next top batsman, and at 25 he is only getting better. The man who took Rahul Dravid's number three spot in the Indian order has already surpassed 200 runs and soared over 300 thrice, an extraordinary feat (even if you don't know Test cricket from Jiminy Cricket),” the report says.
"And Pujara has yet to fully impact the T20 game, the shorter version of cricket that has exploded on the Indian scene. Provided he stays fit (and Pujara has been injury prone thus far), he could well become the next captain of the national team before he hits thirty. And then the endorsement dollars will handsomely pay off for his shareholders," according to Weinstraub.
