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Veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara on Monday admitted that being dropped from the Indian Test team was a disappointing experience and left him with self-doubt and a bruised ego. The 35-year-old batsman was not included in the Indian Test squad for the West Indies tour. Pujara, who played 103 Tests for India, last played for the national team in the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval in June where he scored 14 and 27 runs.
“The last few years have had ups and downs. It tests you as a player because even after playing more than 100 Tests, I still have to prove myself,” Pujara told the ‘Final Word Podcast’. Have to do that I deserve to be there. That’s a different kind of challenge.
Pujara said that being left out of the team sometimes makes him frustrated. He said, “Sometimes you get frustrated, whether you have to prove yourself after 90 Tests or five-six thousand runs or whatever runs I have scored. It’s not easy. Sometimes it plays with your ego. Still in doubt – are you good enough? It is necessary.
Pujara was India’s second highest batsman in the last World Test Championship cycle (2021-23) with 928 runs in 17 Tests. Only Virat Kohli has scored more runs than him, who tops the list with 932 runs. Pujara also scored three centuries in domestic matches. The Saurashtra batsman scored 133 runs for West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy. He scored 106 and 117 for Sussex in the ODI Cup against Northamptonshire and Somerset respectively. Pujara is confident that he can still give a lot to Indian cricket.
He said, “I know I still have a lot to contribute considering the kind of contribution I have made to Indian cricket. I was told an interesting statistic some time ago. “I was told that whenever I scored 70 or 80-plus runs for the Indian team, almost 80 per cent of the time India won or we didn’t win that Test match,” Pujara said. Pujara, however, said he is not worried about the selection and is focusing on polishing his game.