Cheteshwar Pujara Pushes For World Cup Selection With Stunning Century For Sussex

CHETESHWAR Pujara is one of the greats of the game when it comes to Test cricket but he has hardly anything to show in limited-overs cricket for India. Pujara did not get many chances to represent India in a colored jersey and played only five ODI games. The batter never played for India in T20Is and only got to play 30 IPL games, scoring just one half-century.

Pujara’s international ODI record is almost non-existent but the batter time and again has shown he can be a valuable addition to the limited-overs team. Pujara has 5383 runs in 119 List A matches at an average of 57.26, including 15 centuries and 32 fifties.

In 71 T20 games, Pujara has scored 1556 runs at a strike rate of 112.18, including a hundred. His stats are even better in a first-class career, scoring 19429 runs in 254 games, with 60 centuries.

The batter was at his best while playing for Suxxes in England’s One-Day Cup. Pujara scored 106 of 119 balls, taking the team to 240/7. The value of the innings can be understood by the fact that the next-best score for the team was 29 runs.

Can Cheteshwar Pujara Be Considered For The World Cup Squad?

In a format that needs players who can play at a strike rate of over 100, a collapse is always on the cards. This is where players like Pujara can be handy as they can absorb pressure and bring stability to the team. The World Cup is lined up and Pujara is not in the reckoning.

However, he may not be a bad inclusion given his ability to hold one end. The Indian cricket team is laced with dashers from top to bottom, with Virat Kohli the only batter who can play the anchor role. It won’t be a bad move to have someone like Pujara who can serve as a backup to Virat Kohli.

He can also fit in the team as Kohli might not score runs in every game. Pujara in the team will allow the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Hardik Pandya to play their natural game without worrying about a collapse.

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