'Lack of game time had impacted him' - Cheteshwar Pujara's father explains how County Championship has helped him rediscover form

Cheteshwar Pujara’s father and coach Arvind Pujara revealed the reason behind the cricketer’s consistent performance at the County Championship 2022, and said that regular match practice helped him do well for his team Sussex in the recent games. He also mentioned that the Indian batter was not able to practice regularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pujara has played 95 Test matches for India and has amassed more than 6500 runs in the format. But due to his poor form, he was dropped from the Indian Test squad after the conclusion of the South Africa series in January. He was not included in India’s squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka after his inconsistent performance. However, the 34-year-old has regained his mojo at the County Championship and has smashed two double-centuries and a century for Sussex in just three games as he eyes a place in the Indian Test squad.

“I feel the lack of game time was a big reason why he could not be consistent over the past three seasons. When you play the likes of Australia and England, you have to be on the top of your game as you don’t get loose balls that you may get at the domestic level. There were not enough games for him to play at the domestic level to be ready for bigger battles. That I feel impacted his consistency at the highest level,” Pujara’s father Arvind was quoted by NDTV Sports.

Pujara eyes playing for India against England in July

Pujara was also a part of the Ranji Trophy this season as he represented the defending champions Saurashtra, but they were unable to qualify for the knockouts and thus Pujara flew to the UK to participate in the ongoing County Championship.

“It is every cricketer’s dream to play for India and no different for Cheteshwar but you also play for the love of the game. The fact he is playing County Cricket at the moment shows that he just wants to be out in the middle,” Arvind Pujara added.

After gaining vast experience in away conditions, there are chances that Pujara might be looked upon by the selectors for the one-off Test against England as the veteran would bring in his experience from the County games, and would understand the pitch very well.