Cheteshwar Pujara: Resilience Personified

Cheteshwar Pujara is a unique batsman. He strikes out as someone completely different from other Indian cricketers. He plays only Test cricket at the international level, and is arguably the best Test batsman in the Indian team. Pujara has recently completed a 100 Test matches for India.

Pujara comes across as a completely orthodox Test batsman. Always calm and composed, he treats every ball on its merit. He has the ability to bat for long hours, tiring out the opposition, leaving them exhausted. Pujara has withstood some of the best bowling attacks in the world with his focussed and disciplined batting. His contributions against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy over the last decade are unmatched.

In the era of T20s, where batsmen are predominantly known for their run-scoring abilities and unorthodox shots, Pujara’s distinctive quality is his rock solid defense. He always makes sure that he puts a heavy price on his wicket. He has proved his batting prowess time and again. When wickets have tumbled at the other end, Pujara has stood tall and strong, facing every ball with utmost concentration. Over the last decade, Pujara has cemented his position as the go-to no. 3 Test batsman for India.

Pujara has often been criticized for his low strike rate. He wasn’t able to establish himself in the ODI & T20 formats. A lot can be learned from him. If he had blindly followed the bandwagon and tried to establish himself as a T20 cricketer, he probably wouldn’t be as successful as he is today. Instead, he chose a path seldom travelled. He worked on the skills on which he was good at, and carved a niche for himself in the longer format of the game. This made him irreplaceable in the Indian team.

There are very few cricketers who possess the quality of resilience that Pujara has mastered. He is 35 years of age, and it will be very hard to find someone who can match his skill and caliber.