Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara bats at nets outside stadium as India and England clash in Rajkot

Cheteshwar Pujara has smashed 673 runs in six matches in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

Veteran Indian batter and Saurashtra player Cheteshwar Pujara was seen batting in the nets a few meters away from the ongoing India vs England third test match in Rajkot. The right-handed batter Pujara, is gearing up for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2023-24 clash against Manipur, which is going to start on February 16 at Sansora Cricket Ground A, Rajkot.

The 36-year-old Pujara has been out of the Indian test squad since last year’s World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final against Australia. Pujara, who is currently playing Ranji Trophy for Saurasthra, recently achieved a huge milestone in Indian domestic cricket. He became the fourth batter to cross 20,000 runs in First Class (FC) cricket for India.

The veteran batter achieved this landmark in 260 matches he played at an average of 51.96. Ahead of Pujara, there are only three Indian cricketers who have reached the 20,000 mark in FC cricket.

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid (23,794 runs), legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (25,396 runs), and Little Master blaster Sunil Gavaskar (25,834 runs) are the other three batters.

In a viral video that is surfacing on social media, Pujara was seen practicing in the nets ahead of the Manipur clash. The Indian cricketer was also working on his defensive shots and improving his footwork. According to reports, during lunch break on day 1 of the ongoing third test match between India and England, a few fans also turned their eyes towards crafty Pujara, who was practicing in the nets.

Watch viral video here:

At the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Cheteshwar Pujara is sweating it out with the Saurashtra team ahead of their Ranji Trophy match. Handful of spectators have come down in the Lunch break to see him bat 🙂 pic.twitter.com/tgD3hhXweH

— Sahil Malhotra (@Sahil_Malhotra1) February 15, 2024

Despite the unavailability of senior players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer in the ongoing India vs. England five-match test series, the management continued to ignore Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been piling on runs in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Pujara said that there is more cricket left in him. However, he stated that scoring runs in the Ranji Trophy is not a piece of cake.

“Definitely. The way I have been batting and keeping up with my fitness, I am very confident. Scoring runs in Ranji Trophy is not a piece of cake, even though people may want to say it. There is no DRS and decisions don’t always go your way. To keep scoring one has to work hard and be at the top of the game. I hope I will be able to continue to contribute at whichever level I get an opportunity,” Pujara said.

In the ongoing season of Ranji Trophy, Pujara has smashed 673 runs in six matches with an impressive average of 74.77 with the help of two centuries. His highest score in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season is 243 against Jharkhand.

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