'I am still in the scheme of things' - Cheteshwar Pujara hopeful of India comeback after twin tons for Sussex

Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara is hoping to make a comeback in Indian team after smashing two centuries for Sussex in the ongoing Royal London One-Day Cup. The 35-year-old smashed a scintillating, unbeaten 117 against Somerset after an unbeaten 106 off 119 against Northamptonshire. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, with 302 runs at a whopping average of 151 in four games.

Pujara was recently dropped for India's two-match Test series against the West Indies following a string of dismal performances for the national side. He could manage to score only 14 and 27 for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval, which the Rohit Sharma-led side lost by 209 runs.

“Yeah, it’s nice to score runs. Look, I always try and control the things which I can and it’s always about getting as many runs as possible in whatever games I play. I am still in the scheme of things (for India), so I hope that the moment I start scoring runs in first-class games, I’ll be back into the team, but I’ll just try and be in the present, try and take one game at a time," Pujara told on Sussex's YouTube channel.

The 35-year-old is optimistic that he might get a spot in India’s next away series against South Africa later in 2023. 

“We are not going to play any more Test matches in the next two-three months' time. The next Test series is in South Africa in December so there is a long way to go, but I’ll try and focus on the next few games and then try and move into the Championships because we have a few important Championships games coming up in September. We have a chance to qualify and that’s the prime focus for us," he added.