Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has hailed Cheteshwar Pujara for the way he has made a return to the Test side. Pujara was not picked for the home Test series against Sri Lanka after going through a rough patch but he was able to prove his mettle while playing in the County Championship.
After going unsold at the IPL 2022 auction, Pujara scored 1094 runs at an average of 60.10 in County ChampionshipFormer Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has hailed Cheteshwar Pujara for the way he has made a return to the Test side. Pujara was not picked for the home Test series against Sri Lanka after going through a rough patch but he was able to prove his mettle while playing in the County Championship.
Division two whereas he scored 624 runs at an average of 89.19 in the Royal London One Day Cup this year.
Ergo, Pujara was able to get back into form and he was picked for the one-off Test match against England and also in the two Test matches against Bangladesh.
Pujara scored 66 runs in the second innings against England in the rescheduled Test match. The right-hander also scored 52 runs in the second unofficial Test match against Bangladesh A.
Mohammad Kaif said on Sony Sports Network, “I am happy that Pujara has made a comeback into the team. The manner in which he scored runs after being dropped from the side, it is a prime example for youngsters on how to make a comeback.
“Pujara is the best example. After getting dropped, what did he do? He played County cricket and scored centuries in four-day, ODI and even T20s as well.”
Kaif added Pujara forced selectors to pick him after consistent performances in the County Championship.
“He scored so many runs that he forced the selectors to admit their mistake and win a place back in the team. He made the selectors surrender. So, let him play well, he has been doing well sir, kindly get off Pujara’s back.”
Meanwhile, the Natwest Trophy star urged the selectors to not pick players on the basis of a couple of matches in the IPL.
“Domestic players, who have been scoring runs and hundreds on a consistent basis, as Abhimanyu Easwaran has done, only those players should get selected.”
Kaif concluded: “Please do not select heroes from the IPL for India on the basis of a couple of matches. The players who have been scoring heavily in domestic cricket for four to five years are rightly in line.”
Pujara is unbeaten on 12 at Lunch break on the opening day of the first Test against the Tigers.
