Cheteshwar Pujara (Cricketer)

Cheteshwar Pujara is an Indian international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman, who plays test cricket for India and is the representative of the Saurashtra cricket team in domestic cricket. In 2021, he is ranked as the World No. 14 Test batsman by ICC Player rankings.

Birth & Early Life

Cheteshwar Pujara is born on 25 January 1988 in Rajkot, Gujarat to Hindu Brahmin Family. His father Arvind Pujara is a former Ranji Trophy player for Saurashtra. His mother Reema Pujara died due to cancer when he was just 17 years old.

He completed his schooling at Lal Bahadur Shashtri Vidyalaya, Rajkot, and RM Chhaya High School, Rajkot. He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Bio

Career

Initial Career

Cheteshwar started his career by playing in Under-19 cricket. He played his first match against England in 2005 and scored 211 runs in the opening innings which helped India to win by 137 runs. He was later included in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and became the leading run-scorer of the Under-19 World Cup where he scored 349 runs from 6 innings, including three fifties and a century.

Domestic Career

Cheteshwar made her debut in Ranji Trophy on 17-20 December 2005, in Rajkot against Vidarbha, in which he scored 11 and 14 runs in two innings. He came into the limelight when he scored 203 not out against Madhya Pradesh at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium at Rajkot to qualify Saurashtra for the 2012–13 Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.

In 2013, Pujara became the ninth batsman to score three career first-class triple-centuries. His scores were: 302* for Saurashtra against Orissa in 2008/09, 352 for Saurashtra against Karnataka in 2012/13, and 306* for India A against West Indies A in 2013/14.

Pujara became the leading run-scorer for Saurashtra by making 437 runs in four matches in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy and directly helped the team to reach the finals. Later in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored his maiden T20 century and became the first batsman for Saurashtra to score a century in a T20 match.

International Career

Cheteshwar was included in Indian Cricket Team for the two matches Test series against Australia in 2010, replacing Yuvraj Singh. He opened in the second Test on 9 October 2010 at Bangalore when Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman were both injured. In August 2012, he made a comeback into the team and made his first International Test century, 159 against New Zealand at Hyderabad. Since then, he is an integral part of the Indian Test Team. He scored approx. seven thousand runs in 96 matches for India.

Cheteshwar played his first International ODI match on 1 August 2013 in Bulawayo when India tour of Zimbabwe. He scored only 13 runs in 24 balls in his debut inning.

Education Details and More

Physical Stats and More

Personal Life

Cheteshwar married Puja Pabari on 13 February 2013 in Rajkot. The duo got blessed with a baby girl named Aditi on 23 February 2018. He has also been appointed as the brand ambassador of Gujarat by the election commission in the year 2014.

Marital Status and More

Social Media Presence

Some Facts About Cheteshwar Pujara

• Cheteshwar Pujara is born and raised in Rajkot, Gujarat.

• His uncle Bipin Pujara and his father Arvind Pujara represented Saurashtra in Ranji Cricket.

• He got limelight when he scored 306 and then a national record in a West Zone Under 19 match against Baroda.

• He was the Man of the Tournament in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

• He has made over 18 centuries in international cricket.

• In his free time, Pujara loves spending time with his daughter Aditi.