He continues to knock on the national team's doors despite being dropped, making the selectors' heads turn.
An out-of-favour India star has been making waves in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 season with some scintillating performances. Despite being dropped from the national side, he’s making some noise as the veteran batter has already scored 673 runs at an average of 74.77 in this Ranji Trophy season.
Cheteshwar Pujara, one of India’s prolific Test batters, remains determined to earn his place back in the national team after facing exclusion. Despite other players like Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer also striving to secure their spots, Pujara stands out by consistently scoring runs in the Ranji Trophy and forcing the selectors to notice.
Maintaining focus after being dropped from the national team is challenging but Pujara’s dedication to the sport keeps him going. With 103 Tests under his belt and at the age of 36, returning to the national team might seem daunting to many but Pujara’s unwavering motivation knows no limits.
In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, Pujara spoke about his cricketing aspirations after being snubbed from the Indian team. His response was a message to selectors in itself while outlining that his purpose of scoring runs for India hasn’t died yet either.
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Pujara said, “Definitely. The way I have been batting and keeping up with my fitness, I am very confident. Scoring runs in Ranji Trophy is not a piece of cake, even though people may want to say it. There is no DRS and decisions don’t always go your way. To keep scoring one has to work hard and be at the top of the game. I hope I will be able to continue to contribute at whichever level I get an opportunity.”
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