When I think of Cheteshwar Pujara, an image of an earnest person with a polite smile comes to mind.
This demeanour of Pujara has not changed in the last eight years that he has been playing for India and this is commendable, for he has not had an easy ride in Indian cricket. In fact, nothing in cricket has come easy for Pujara.
Like a Sachin Tendulkar or a Virat Kohli, he was not touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket where selectors were just waiting for these kids to get some runs to fast track them on to the big scene. Prodigious talent demands and deserves that kind of special treatment in sports.
Pujara wasn’t prodigiously talented and to be clear and for convenience, I use talent as a word to suggest only physical skills and not the mental side of sport.
Pujara, for a defensive batsman, did not even have a defensive technique to rave about, but I remember being very impressed with his decisive, simple footwork in his debut Test against Australia.
He was right back to balls that were short and had a nice stride forward when the ball was full. These were great fundamentals to have as a batsman. On the downside, it was easy to see that he was not very athletic nor did he possess power in a power-driven batting world of today.
So all poor Pujara had as his ally to survive at the top were runs. Only runs would keep him in the side and the moment the runs dried up he would be out! This was his fate, his reality.
He was not one like Rohit Sharma, chosen to get the long rope in Indian cricket.
Anyway, after that debut Test in India, Pujara went to South Africa and failed in the three innings he got there. Sceptics like me made a note of it!
Then came that 153 at the Wanderers on his second trip to South Africa in 2013. One must know South Africa is the most arduous amongst foreign countries for Indian batsmen to get runs. Even batting greats of India have average numbers there!
After that 153, Pujara was marked down as an Indian batsman who could get runs away from India too.
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