Cheteshwar Pujara: The meditative monk of Indian cricket

So much has happened in Indian cricket in the last three months. Shikhar Dhawan returned from injury, was in ominous form, but is now again side-lined with shoulder issue. KL Rahul opened the batting initially, then Virat Kohli felt he is good in the middle order and Rahul was shuffled up and down the order. Then, Rahul metamorphosed into a keeper, and Pant is literally not in the ‘scheme of things’ as far as the limited overs side is concerned because he is no more the first-choice, Rahul having stolen his thunder.

Kohli has gone nine ODIs now without a century, and is going through a lean patch. Jasprit Bumrah went wicket-less for the first time in a bilateral ODI series. In all this cacophony in the side, one man has almost been oblivious to these changes. He has put on the whites, and has gone ahead and done what he has loved doing. Bat, bat, and bat.

Since the day and night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019, Pujara has not played an international match for India. Since then, he has scored a double hundred in the Ranji Trophy which was also his 50th First Class hundred. He was the man who again bailed the team out of a precarious situation in the warm-up match against New Zealand XI as well. He scored a valuable 93 for his side, and once again proved that he is the man who will steady the shaky ship.

Pujara is serene. When we look at the man, we might not be overawed at first sight. He does not possess the flamboyance of Kohli, the lazy elegance of Rohit Sharma, or the unorthodox genius of Steve Smith. But he will sweat it out in the middle. He will prefer to look ugly, he will leave the ball outside the off stump. And before we can realize it, he would have slowly tilted the balance of the game in favour of the team.

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In an era where there is a penchant for power hitting, where hitting the ball against the turn is no longer looked down upon, Pujara is a throwback to a bygone era. You will not see him play unorthodox cricket, you will not see him play the reverse sweep or the paddle. He will hit the ball through the line, he will transfer his weight onto the front foot with precision, he will split the gap with methodical brilliance.

Pujara is unassuming but a certified match-winner

He was the man who was instrumental in India winning the historic Test series against Australia. He scored three hundreds on the tour against the Kangaroos and held fort like a distinguished warrior. Yet, he never got the credit he deserved.

Pujara might have probably got used to working away from the limelight. Probably he does not even like the attention, preferring to work from the background like a meditative monk. The whites are sacred to him, and his batsmanship will excite the connoisseurs of Test cricket.

And whenever India play the longest format of the game, he gains prominence for a brief while. He is forgotten when the IPL starts, he is forgotten when India play a multinational ODI tournament, he is forgotten when a T20 series in underway. He does not complain. He goes about doing what he knows best.

Bat, bat, and bat in the whites, with the sweat dripping from his eyebrows.

As India take on New Zealand, Pujara will again gain prominence. The fortunes of the Indian team will depend upon how he fares with the bat in the series. Pujara’s name will not crop up when people discuss their favourite cricketers, but his utility to the side is second to none.

He is like a monk. Unperturbed and undisturbed by all the noise, who goes ahead and does what he loves the most.

Bat, bat and bat……

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