Pujara last donned the whites in June 2023 against Australia.
India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has regretted not getting enough chances for India in ODIs and T20Is. He spoke about how the “Test cricketer” tag given by the cricketing world always restricted him from coming out of the red-ball circuit.
“If you look at my record in white ball cricket, my performance in List A, county cricket or domestic T20 cricket has been very good. I got the tag of a Test cricketer somewhere, which is fine. That is not a bad thing because I like to play Test cricket. But because of that, a viewpoint was formed and I did not get many opportunities in white ball cricket,” stated Pujara in a Sports Tak show.
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While acknowledging his domestic limited-over stats, Pujara felt that he would have been a great addition to the national team’s white-ball squad. Notably, the batter made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2013. Since then, he has represented India in only five matches and scored 51 runs.
“That is why I feel that if I had got opportunities at the higher level, in international cricket, I would have been able to contribute. I have done this in domestic cricket,” he added.
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Pujara was a constant in India’s red-ball squad. He made 7,195 runs in 103 Test matches for India, including 19 centuries. However, the veteran batter last donned the Indian whites against Australia in June 2023.
After Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Pujara could’ve been a valuable addition to the Indian squad on foreign soil. The five-match Test series in England will begin on June 20.
During the same show, the 37-year-old picked his all-time best XI of India in Test cricket. Pujara chose the legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar alongside Virender Sehwag as the openers.
Instead of naming himself at No.3, Pujara picked the former India head coach Rahul Dravid. He believes that Dravid is a better pick to play in that position.
“The openers are a weird combination. Both are very strong batters but calm and composed. Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, very aggressive. So, this can be in a different way. Number 3 – Rahul Dravid. He has been a better player, without any doubt,” said Pujara on that Sports Tak show.
Next, he named the three legacy batters of India, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni. His all-time Test XI also included VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kapil Dev.
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