'He's an example for any young player' - Mohammad Kaif lauds Cheteshwar Pujara's Test team comeback

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has heaped praises on Cheteshwar Pujara for the way he has made his immediate comeback to the Indian national Test team. The veteran batter was dropped for India’s last Test series against Sri Lanka but the player is back in the fold for the rescheduled Test match against England.

The 34-year-old Test specialist has failed to score a century since January 2019 and his poor performances led to his exclusion from the Indian team after the South Africa series in January 2022. He rejoined his domestic team Saurashtra and scored two fifties in three matches of Ranji Trophy 2022. The player went unsold in the Indian Premier League 2022 mega-auction in February and went to England to play County cricket for Sussex.

Cheteshwar Pujara has been a fantastic player for India: Mohammad Kaif

Pujara enjoyed a hugely successful spell with Sussex where he scored 720 runs in just eight innings at an impressive average of 120.0. Kaif advised youngsters that Pujara’s hard work and his choices after getting dropped from the national setup are things to learn from him. He also believes that the experienced player will bat at number three in the upcoming Test match against England on the first of July.

“You can learn so much from Pujara. If you get dropped, what do you have to do as a batter? You go back to County, you go back to Ranji and you score runs and runs and I mean, score tons and tons of runs. He has done that. He’s an example for any young player who has been dropped and how to make a comeback. Probably you should go back to Pujara and watch what he has done in the last couple of months. He has been a fantastic player for India also. And I think he’ll play No.3 for India,” Kaif said during an interaction with NDTV.

Pujara’s middle-order partner, Ajinkya Rahane, was dropped after the South Africa series and is missing the England tour after suffering an injury while playing for KKR in IPL 2022 last month. He also featured in Ranji Trophy 2022 and made a point by scoring a century and one fifty in just four innings.