Always Wanted To Play The Shorter Format Of The Game - Cheteshwar Pujara Thanks CSK For Buying Him

Cheteshwar Pujara will be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the first time since 2014 as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bought the right-hander for his base price of INR 50 Lakhs in the IPL 2021 Auction on Thursday.

Pujara, a world-renowned class player, has missed on an IPL contract for the past many seasons owing to his reputation as a pure Test batsman and not someone who can tonk the ball. However, the MS Dhoni-led franchise has acquired him for the upcoming 14th season of the tournament and would like to utilize his experience on Indian pitches; Pujara does have a T20 century to his name.

Ahead of the forthcoming Test match against England, Cheteshwar Pujara thanked CSK for showing faith in him and is excited to be part of the IPL again.

“I’m really glad to be part of the IPL. It’s good to be back again, and I would like to thank CSK for taking me. I always wanted to play the shorter format of the game,” Cheteshwar Pujara said during a virtual media conference from Ahmedabad, where the rest of the Test series will be played.

After the IPL Cheteshwar Pujara looking for a county stint before the England Test series

In the recent reports, the 33-year-old is in talks with the Warwickshire county for a stint in the County Championship this season. Pujara, who has earlier played for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire, is looking for another hit in the county in order to prepare for the tour of England in August this year. Team India will travel to the UK to take on Joe Root’s men for a 5-Test series later this year.

The right-hander may play some county matches after the IPL; nothing has been finalized yet, but expect the earnest batsman to ply his trade in some county matches before the England tour.

“Once IPL gets over, there will be a window where I can play a few county games. That call I will take once IPL it gets over. But there will be enough time to play some County games. We also have a couple of practice games before the Test series begins in August. There’s plenty of time to play county cricket but it’s always good to be back in IPL.