Cheteshwar Pujara Player Profile, Age, Career, Bowling & Batting Stats

"A Perfect Test Specialist"- Cheteshwar Pujara is unarguably one of the best batters to play for India in Tests. Pujara has been recognized as a powerful batsman in the longest format.

Cheteshwar Pujara is a right-handed batsman. He plays in the top order. He is one of the few players to represent India in more than 100 Tests.

Pujara has been a backbone for the team in Tests and also helped the team to clinch crucial Test series. He was part of the Indian team that played in the ICC World Test Championship finals in 2021 and 2023.

Early Life and Career

Cheteshwar Pujara was born in Rajkot City in Gujarat on January 25, 1988. His father Arvind Pujara was a Ranji Trophy player for Saurashtra. Since 2005, he has represented Saurashtra in domestic cricket and still plays for the side. Pujara married Puja Pabari in 2013.

Pujara got his first big break in 2005 when he was picked for the Under-19 Test team. He also played in the U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2006. Since Pujara is a Test player, he had a limited presence in T20Is. However, he was a regular member of the Test team during his peak.

International Career

Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut long back in 2010 against Australia. However, he took some time to cement his spot in the national team. He made his ODI debut three years later in 2013 with an ODI game against Zimbabwe.

His ODI career finished the next year when he played his last Test match against Bangladesh. Pujara never played any T20I game for Team India.

IPL Career

Cheteshwar Pujara was a member of Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2010 season. Later, he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2011 to 2013 seasons. He was part of the Punjab Kings in the 2014 season.

Later, Pujara went unsold for the next six seasons of IPL. In IPL 2021, Chennai Super Kings picked Pujara in their squad. However, he didn't play any game in the season, when CSK emerged as champions.