Top 5 unsung heroes of 2017

In sports, we often tend to remember the players who pull you towards them. For example, a lot of people would remember what a Steven Smith or a Virat Kohli has done in a particular game or series. These kinds of players always remain in the spotlight (irrespective of what they do).

However, there are a few players who perform a thankless job. They, more often than not, tend to stay away from the spotlight and go about their work quietly, but their consistency and output is often up to the mark. Hence, we look at 5 such players who were the ‘unsung’ heroes for this year (2017). 

Note – Stats as on 21st December 2017

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#5 Cheteshwar Pujara

Many cricket pundits have stated that ‘Cheteshwar Pujara meditates in the middle’ and that is because of his wonderful ability to bat for long hours with immense concentration. And in 2017, Pujara has done what he does the best

India’s Test No. 3 has churned out runs at will this year. He started the year with a couple of half-centuries against Bangladesh before coming into his own zone against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (where he scored 405 runs in 4 Tests).

In that series, he broke Rahul Dravid’s record of most balls faced by an Indian in a Test inning. He played 525 balls en route to a majestic 202. Every time, India were in trouble, Pujara bailed them out. His 52 on a tough pitch at Eden Gardens is a testament to this fact.

He has scored 1,140 runs at an average of 67.06 this year. Even though he has scored a plethora of runs (with 4 hundreds and 5 fifties), Pujara has stayed away from the spotlight.

With major attention being on the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Pujara has quietly gone about his work and is currently the highest run-getter of 2017. 

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