Cheteshwar Pujara is the next Dravid in the making

[Jersey #10]

HELL NO! He is still "ek raat ki chandni"!! Pujara will need to prove him self over and over again at different occasions to even get close to what Dravid has achieved

[Chandan]

My word will come true soon.

Hope it does. I'll still prefer to wait for a few matches specially in alien conditions like SA. Hope he comes out with flying colours and rests all the apprehensions to rests that Indian batting might slump after our greats retire!I'd like to wait and see.

[fineleg]

Hope it does. I'll still prefer to wait for a few matches specially in alien conditions like SA. Hope he comes out with flying colours and rests all the apprehensions to rests that Indian batting might slump after our greats retire!I'd like to wait and see.

IMO, Its not going to happen like magic. He'll struggle for a bit, since the conditions and quality of attack will be vastly different. But hopefully after some matches he'll adapt.

[Hindustani]

WTF, he played just 1 test and you guys are comparing him to RD who averages 50+ and is in Top 10 test batsmen of last 15 years !!!

[Chandan]

WTF' date=' he played just 1 test and you guys are comparing him to RD who averages 50+ and is in Top 10 test batsmen of last 15 years !!![/quote'] Don't think anyone is comparing him to Dravid. Many are hoping him to fill Dravid's shoes successfully while most are still apprehensive and are still prefering to wait and watch for a few more tests.

[EnterTheVoid]

WTF' date=' he played just 1 test and you guys are comparing him to RD who averages 50+ and is in Top 10 test batsmen of last 15 years !!![/quote'] Welcome to ICF.

[saneindian]

Pujara will create a niche for himself. Why burden him with such huge expectations?

[gaurav92]

Pujara will create a niche for himself. Why burden him with such huge expectations?

I second that.

[bunny]

Pujara will be a fail within 10 tests. Not that I want him to, but imho, he has neither the technique nor natural talent to succeed.

[Karan114]

Cheteshwar Pujara passes the test Peter Roebuck Cheteshwar Pujara's partnerships with Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar were the most significant parts of India's victory over a struggling Australian outfit. Suddenly India can be more confident about the future. Everyone knows that the present is in good hands. Pujara proved that it is possible for a young batsman to make the grade in 2010. Everyone knew gifted youngsters could make crores of rupees and crack lots of sixers but there is more to cricket than that. Could they match the dedication of previous generations? Could they learn to play off both feet and adjust to different conditions? Could they play long innings? Affirmative answers Pujara answered these questions in the affirmative. Other worries were also addressed. Could the new brigade remain hungry when already rich at 23 and surrounded by the shallow lifestyle that celebrity bestows? In bygone days aspiring cricketers could not make a living from the game till they had proved themselves fifty times. Not that the old days were so great. Just that they did separate the genuine from the impostor. Pujara passed every test. At the crease he displayed skill as well as grit. In the first innings he sat with his pads on for hours only to be beaten by a grubber. Significantly he did not let his bad luck prey on his mind. Instead he seized the chance so thoughtfully provided by his captain to give India's tricky chase exactly the start it needed. Clearly it can be done. Certainly it was only one innings. Pujara might not play even in the next match. Certainly it is not wise to proclaim the arrival of a new champion. But the youngster has shown that modern boys can be as single-minded as previous generations. No more excuses can be made. Character Character is more important than context. Pujara's partnership with Vijay was vital because of the position of the match and the promise it made about India's future. And it was a partnership. They ran well between wickets and chose their shots intelligently. Vijay watches the ball closely and plays straight. Perhaps he does not move forward as decisively as his comrade but his temperament is sound. Pujara too is a proper batsman. Admittedly he faced only 10 balls from Johnson and 14 from Hilfenhaus but that was hardly his fault. Tendulkar's arrival introduced another facet. Here was the master and the apprentice batting together. Pujara's emergence will help to keep Tendulkar young. He has always enjoyed mixing with the younger element and now can concentrate on passing on his knowledge to a boy eager to listen. Besides batting, Tendulkar can teach his protégé how to handle the pressures of life in the spotlight. These are the most vital lessons of them all. Pujara might well be lucky with his timing. Not so long ago a bunch of capable batsmen emerged only to find that the door was closed and likely to stay that way for a decade. They had to grab every chance that came along and pray for miracles. None of them left an indelible mark. Perhaps they were not quite good enough. Something broke inside. Pujara, Vijay and Rohit Sharma know that the door will soon open and remain open. They are in the right place at the right time. At present the elders are playing well but nothing lasts for ever. They can also hope to live in a time of transparency. After all the IPL clean up is underway. The message is clear. Life after Tendulkar might not be so bad. Some of these newcomers can play a bit as well. http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/16/stories/2010101664961800.htm

[rkt.india]

that's interesting...he faced only 24 ball from Hilfy and Johnson in total out of 79 he faced

[cowboysfan]

Pujara will be a fail within 10 tests. Not that I want him to' date=' but imho, he has neither the technique nor natural talent to succeed.[/quote'] i think you should hear Sunny's comment about technique and temperment.Rohit sharma has more talent and very good technique but he cant even sustain an inning in ODIs.

[fineleg]

Andy, As much as you may like SGanguly , he is faaar down in terms of level compared to the likes of SRT, RD, AK. VVS has his super moments and is a class player but different type.

[Andy]

Andy, As much as you may like SGanguly , he is faaar down in terms of level compared to the likes of SRT, RD, AK. VVS has his super moments and is a class player but different type.

Kindly show me where i have said he is ahead of them. I was never a fan of Ganguly the batsman before. But his comeback in 2007 changed everything for general cricket fans, and people started admiring him. Was always fan of Ganguly the leader.But he is a Legend when you talk about his ODI achievments and Offcourse VS long with his. Next time do read my posts properly, Thank You.

[Chandan]

Don't know how many of you read this : The day Pujara seized his chance In the last innings of the Bangalore Test, a 22-year-old walked out instead of Rahul Dravid - and made sure he gave those watching plenty to talk about Nagraj Gollapudi October 21, 2010 Cheteshwar Pujara: a movie-script debut For one poignant moment Cheteshwar Pujara was a fan again. Looking over the shoulders of his team-mates at the post-match presentation following his audacious innings on the final day of the second Test against Australia in Bangalore, Pujara did not want to miss out on anything Sachin Tendulkar was saying. When Tendulkar finally mentioned his name, Pujara's face lit up. It was not that he was feeling empty without an acknowledgement from his senior team-mates. His 72 runs in the final innings had shut Australia out of the contest. He had no doubt he belonged among the elite. He just wanted to hear his name, savour the moment, soak in the happiness. A week later he still is pinching himself in delight. "I am still recovering a little bit," he says. "It is a great feeling, no doubt." But he is not getting carried away. "There are many things to achieve in life. It is a very good start but it is in the past now, and as a cricketer I would like to be in the present." Only Pujara and his father-mentor-coach-comforter Arvind know how hard it was for him to claim the honour of being India's 266th Test cricketer. Rajkot is no backward town, but in terms of cricketing infrastructure it is the outback. Pujara trained on concrete wickets, with sparse kit, against average bowling, and grew hungry as time ticked by. At 22, he has not waited all that long to earn a Test berth. It just seems that way, though, since he seems to have been scoring big in domestic cricket forever. In the last four first-class seasons Pujara has averaged at least 50: in 2006-07 he logged 595 runs at 59.50 (two centuries and three fifties); in 2007-08, 807 at 73.36 (three centuries and three fifties); 2008-09, 906 runs at 82.36 (four centuries); and last season he had 554 at 79.14 (one hundred and four fifties). His desperation possibly had something to do with the fact that contemporaries like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli seemed to be gaining mileage in the media based on brilliance they had shown in the shorter versions. Pujara did not panic and try and transform his game, though. He suppressed his impatience and kept his focus clear. And when in Bangalore he was told he was in, an hour before the toss, he knew he was ready. He walked in as if he belonged. On the eve of the Test Gary Kirsten told him to be prepared and that he might get a chance. VVS Laxman was to have a fitness test for back spasms on the morning of the match. Pujara went to bed thinking Laxman would probably make it. During the morning warm-up, Laxman walked up to Pujara to tell him he wasn't feeling okay and that he might not play. "He also said sorry to keep me hanging in the balance," Pujara says. "Because I was making my debut he understood that if I was playing and got the news 45 minutes or an hour before the match, it was not good. But he couldn't do anything about it and I told him that." When he walked in to bat on the third day, he couldn't have asked for a better partner. Tendulkar was already in the zone, inching towards his double-century. "Sachin paaji told me, 'You will feel some pressure initially because it is your debut match. You will feel some nerves and stiffness in the body. But just enjoy it, don't put pressure on yourself. It will go away after 10-15 minutes.' "When I went in I did not feel anything. But as soon as I reached the crease I saw my name, followed by the word 'debutant'. Everyone started screaming. Then I felt, 'Oh, this is the moment I have always wanted to be in.' It was different from a Ranji game." Having watched Tendulkar and M Vijay dominate the Australian bowling for many hours on an easy pitch, Pujara was looking forward to batting himself. He lasted only three balls, though, and was defeated by a fast, angled, ankle-length Mitchell Johnson delivery from round the stumps. Tendulkar and other team-mates consoled Pujara later, pointing out it was not his fault. "I was really disappointed and it was really difficult to sleep," he says. "The wicket seemed very batting-friendly. So I thought things would be easy for me, especially as the bowlers were tired. And I was feeling well when I entered. The second ball I hit a four but somehow I got out." He did not let the disappointment affect his fielding on the fourth day, impressing with his agility at silly point and short leg, giving India's spinners confidence and putting pressure on the Australians. Pujara's hour of reckoning would arrive on the fifth morning, when he was told during the warm-ups that he would have to bat at one-down. "I said, 'It is perfect,'" he says. He agreed with the team management's strategy behind the move, which was that they did not want an inexperienced player down the order with India chasing in the fourth innings. "Raina and myself are good players but we are still inexperienced in Test cricket." The confidence MS Dhoni showed in him despite it being only his second international innings was important to him. "The opportunity I got of batting at No. 3 was one of the best moments. It was a bit difficult - a challenging task," Pujara says. "As a debutant you want to score some runs in the first innings, to prove you are capable enough to play at the international level. And when you get out for a low score your confidence does go down. I told myself that I did not do anything wrong, so let me be positive. I have done enough hard work and I'm capable enough to play at international level. And when I got to play at three, that was my best chance." On the fourth evening he read a spiritual book in Gujarati. One sentence made an impression: "If you have worked enough and if you trust God, then why do you worry about the result?" The book is one Pujara has had since he was 12 or 13. It was introduced to the family by his mother, Reena. "She did not force us to read it, she just left it there. One day I picked it up and started to read it. I get life-changing thoughts reading such stuff, as I believe in God," he says. The second time he went in to bat, that sentence came to mind. "I said I wouldn't worry about the result. I have worked hard enough. I will try and be in the present. I will just bat," he says. When Virender Sehwag got out on the fifth morning the crowd went mute for a minute, then sighed, seeing Pujara and not Rahul Dravid, the local hero, walk in. Did Pujara sense the disappointment of the fans? He begs to differ. "I sensed they wanted me to score runs. They wanted India to win," he says. But he admits the first ball was difficult. The first-innings dismissal was playing on his mind. "I was a bit more nervous." He took a risky single and was lucky Ricky Ponting missed hitting the stumps at the end to which Vijay was rushing. The next over, Pujara hit Johnson for a boundary, but the momentum only swung his way when Nathan Hauritz came on to bowl his first over of the day. Pujara charged him second ball to hit an off-drive that went straight, past the right of mid-off, to the boundary - his favourite shot from the innings. Eleven came off that over. "I thought then that I could dominate the bowlers," he says. The fields set for Hauritz were easy for Pujara to manipulate. He had watched the offspinner closely in the first innings. "I had seen him bowl to the same fields during the first innings from round the wicket to Sachin paaji and Vijay. I don't want to say if it was the right field or wrong field, but I knew what field he was going to bowl to me," he says. By lunch Pujara was on 26, including four boundaries. Pujara made his Test debut on October 9 - the day, in 2005, that his mother passed away, succumbing to cancer. "She was one of the most inspiring persons in my life and the one whom I loved the most," he says. "So I did not want to do anything sad. Wherever she is now, she would be happy." For Pujara to play for India has not been a dream for him alone. It has been a family dream, one achieved through collective efforts. If there is one person happier than Pujara, it is his father. "He is a modest person," Pujara says. "People are not aware of how much he has done for me. His contribution to me is tremendous. The satisfaction is, I have met his dream."

[Sachinism]

Thanks for sharing, excellent read

[Karan114]

Nice one, thanks for sharing. Seems like a sensible, down to earth chap. Hopefully he will learn a lot from people like Sachin and Dravid in their remaining years as players, as they are model professionals in addition to being brilliant players.

Pujara made his Test debut on October 9 - the day, in 2005, that his mother passed away, succumbing to cancer.

What a sad irony :((

[rkt.india]

I had already read it in cricinfo