Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t use a sword, but he does use a bat that cuts deep into the opposition’s bowling unit. Pujara isn’t someone who would appear intimidating to the opposition by his mere looks and aggression. However, he is someone whose grit and patience could exhaust the opposition mentally.
The 29-year-old isn’t someone who can thrash the opposition bowling as and when he wants. But, he is someone who knows when to kill the opposition softly with a swift and accurate movement of the blade. In many ways, he is like a Samurai for the Indian team whose monk like temperament and rock solid determination sets him apart from the rest of the batsmen.
Come 3 August, Pujara will be playing his 50th Test for India and will also have the chance to complete 4,000 Test runs.
Having been able to play 50 Tests for your country is a proof of your consistency as a player. In many ways it is special as it is the first major milestone in a Test cricketer’s career. However, Pujara being his usual self, is never too excited with milestones. He likes to take one Test at a time with an aim to win it for his country.
The key to Pujara's success is that he doesn't get overwhelmed with small achievements. A little grin on his face and a small raise of the bat is all you can see when he scores a century or even a double century.
His disciplined approach and controlled attitude towards the game is something that was harnessed since his childhood. And the credit for that goes to his father, Arvind Pujara, who once represented Saurashtra in first-class cricket.
The 29-year old had also revealed how his father didn't let him feel the absence of his mother after she passed away when Pujara was a 17-year-old kid. Arvind Pujara didn't break down and kept his full focus on his son's training and necessities as he was about to play a U-19 match for India in a few days.
That phase taught him to be focused at work despite the emotional turmoil going on in his personal life. And he owes all his success to his father.
Pujara now has 3,966 runs to his name in 49 Tests at a mammoth average of 52.18. Not only that, those runs include 12 centuries and 15 half-centuries as well. The only thing one can complain about is his strike rate which stands at a sluggish 48.17.
Pujara had also encountered an early setback in his career. He injured his knee severely in 2011 after making a promising debut against Australia in the previous year. However, he worked on his fitness and made a strong comeback in the series against New Zealand in 2012. His innings of 159 against the Kiwis was an absolute treat to watch. And now he is at the pinnacle of success and reaping the rewards of his hard work.
Pujara had great six months after his comeback in the series against New Zealand. He struck two double tons, one against Australia and one against England, in a span of just four months and pushed his team to victory on both occasions.
After he was left out for four Test matches in 2015, he came back with a bang with an innings of 145* against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2015. And then he didn’t look back.
His knocks of 87 against New Zealand at Kolkata in 2016 and 92 against Australia at Bengaluru in 2017 once again turned out to be instances of his grit and determination.
He was the lone warrior with the bat in both the matches and it was his innings both the times that made the difference for India.
From the tag of being the successor to Rahul Dravid, Pujara has gone on to establish his own authority and creating his own identity over the years. He is now gearing up for another battle.
Pujara is again ready to decimate the bowlers silently and kill the opposition softly. People might tag him as 'The Next Wall' or the next Rahul Dravid of Indian Cricket. However, in my opinion, he has established his authority as the Silent Samurai of Indian cricket.
(Prasenjit Dey is a freelance cricket writer. He can be reached at@Prosen02. The opinions expressed are the author’s own and The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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