"Cheteshwar Pujara said once again that he is still there" - Aakash Chopra picks India's No. 3 as his Player of the Day

Aakash Chopra has lauded Cheteshwar Pujara for proving once again that Team India need to stick with him as they need a player like him for Test cricket.

Pujara scored an enterprising unbeaten 102 off 130 balls in India's second innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Friday, December 16. His knock, coupled with a century by Shubman Gill, helped KL Rahul and Co. set a daunting 513-run fourth-innings target for the hosts.

While reviewing the third day's play in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was all praise for Pujara, saying:

"Cheteshwar Pujara said once again that he is still there. He asked you to stick with him till the time he is there because you need a player like him in Test cricket. He won the hearts because he scored a Test century after 52 innings. He scored 90 quite a few times but here he crossed the three-figure mark."

The former Indian opener picked the Saurashtra batter as his Player of the Day, elaborating:

"Cheteshwar Pujara was the Player of the Day, 102 not out off 130 balls. Everyone sees him and says that he plays extremely slowly, that he keeps on defending. He has played defensively for the team many times, left a lot of balls and also taken blows to his chest, but has stood there."

Chopra added that Pujara showed another facet of his game with his attacking knock on Friday, stating:

"He struck quite a few half-centuries in the last three years but now that century has also come. So he can bat like this also, he can play the reserve sweeps as well. In fact, I remember another century of his on the Indore ground against New Zealand. There also he batted extremely beautifully in the second innings."

Pujara's 102-run knock against Bangladesh was his fastest century in Test cricket. He struck 13 fours during his innings and strung together a 113-run partnership with Gill for the second wicket.

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"Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara went out of the Indian team at almost the same time" - Aakash Chopra praises the latter for his comeback

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped after the Test series against South Africa.

Chopra highlighted that Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara opted to take different paths after being dropped from India's Test side, pointing out:

"One more thing that comes to your mind is that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara went out of the Indian team at almost the same time. Ajinkya Rahane decided to play in the IPL, played a few games as well. Cheteshwar Pujara went to play in England, he said he wanted to play county cricket and score runs."

The reputed commentator concluded by praising Pujara for setting his priorities, explaining:

"There he scored so many runs that when the Test team went to England, his name was there and he has now become a permanent fixture of the Test team again. But Ajinkya Rahane has fallen a little behind. At times, it is also about setting your priorities right, which Pujara did well."

Pujara amassed 1094 runs at an outstanding average of 109.40 in the eight first-class games he played for Sussex. The Test specialist has opted out of the upcoming IPL 2023 auction as well.