The veteran Indian player Cheteshwar Pujara has recently expressed his thoughts on why he has been restricted in terms of chances in white-ball cricket. He feels he has been tagged as a Test specialist despite some pretty solid performances in domestic and county cricket. At 37, he has represented India in five ODIs only, but he doesn’t have any regrets over the route he took, saying that he takes pride in his Test career and its glorious wins.
In Tests, 7,195 runs and 19 centuries have been the proof of Pujara’s mettle, the lack of opportunities notwithstanding. During the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he scored 521 runs against Australia. He shared his thoughts about the what-if side of his white-ball story in an interview with Sports Tak wherein he was of the opinion that good performances in List A and T20 cricket would have proved that Pujara could have also excelled in shorter formats.
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I’m very happy with my journey so far. No regrets. But I can’t help but think that things might have been different. I got labeled a Test cricketer, which isn’t a bad thing since I love playing Tests. But that led to fewer chances in white-ball games, Pujara said on the show Vikrant Unfiltered. In fact, many coaches and senior players believe anybody who can play Tests can play ODIs as well, which he sees as an easier format.
I have no regrets, but if I’d been given a chance, I know I would have performed well, Pujara said. His 103-Test career has been one of grit and determination and has even seen him in the 2023 WTC final. His statements also hint that Indian cricket, at times, pigeonholes players into certain roles, and that makes it difficult for players to break that.
