Agony ends: After countless tests, Cheteshwar Pujara finally satisfies selectors

Three triple centuries, a first class average of over 60, 14 centuries and 13 half centuries. Mountain of runs in List-A: Challenger Series, India ‘A’ tour, and the Under-19 World Cup in 2006; runs on all types of tracks – flat ones in Rajkot and even seaming and bouncing conditions in England and Australia, quick runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The call was getting loud to the point of deafening the selectors, and they FINALLY obliged. Although not a Michael Hussey in terms of age during selection, Cheteshwar Pujara has been waiting since more than an eternity to be included in the Indian squad and the batsman from Saurashtra can finally afford a genuine smile now that he has been included in the 15-member squad for a two-Test series against Australia at the start of next month.

It's been a long wait for Cheteshwar Pujara

A technically correct batsman having a penchant for staying for long in the middle and playing big innings, Cheteshwar Pujara has done everything perfectly right to deserve a place in the Indian squad for two seasons now. The youngster was repeatedly ignored and a lot of showier and less-accomplished batsman received the call up in these days of quick runs, quick money and quick cricket, but Pujara remained positive and kept on scoring.

In fact, he showed enough maturity and patience (also his batting strength) to not let circumstances frustrate him, or at least to not let the frustration demoralise him. Players like Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina went ahead of him, the IPL being a big consideration. “I never thought about selection and concentrated on my game. There are a lot of better players and I knew making a cut won’t be that easy. All I had in mind was to keep on scoring runs and wait for my turn.”

It was easier said than done, though. During long chats with Aakash Chopra, his team-mate in many tournaments and of course in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the conversation would at times inevitably get to this. Pujara is a very soft-spoken personality to reveal his annoyance or even acknowledge it himself, but somewhere deep within him doubts and questions arose.

“I have spent enough hours with him. Occasionally, talking man to man, when you talk your heart out, it would come out. Questions like why not?” reveals Chopra to a website.

“Not only younger, lesser talented people, who have done far fewer things in the world of cricket, getting more limelight, more money, more recognition in the world of cricket. That is good enough reason to feel dejected. You are told if you score, you will be picked. If you are not, there is a serious problem.”

Men of substance are never flashy, but it takes a while for people to realise the true worth. Cheteshwar Pujara might well be of the category of Anil Kumble, whose countless match winning feats went unnoticed.

And indeed, in today’s age of impatience and Twenty20, Cheteshwar Pujara stands out from the herd of cattle all enchanted by the quick-fix solution to get their cricketing careers off to a flying start. He is a real cricketer and not a ‘bits and parts’ cricketer. The good thing is, it has finally been recognised by the selection committee of the BCCI.

Yuvraj Singh cries foul at his omission, but he might well look at the credentials of his replacement and the endless wait for that call. He might feel better.

The question is – will Pujara get a chance to play? Or will it be two more seasons of remaining in 15-member squads before playing a game for India?

Squad: MS Dhoni (captain), V Sehwag, G Gambhir, R Dravid, S Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Raina, H Singh, A Mishra, Z Khan, I Sharma, S Sreesanth, P Ojha, M Vijay, C Pujara