Definitely want to be part of the IPL: Cheteshwar Pujara
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara is harbouring hopes of playing in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). The right-handed batsman is confident that he would be able to do well in the T20 format if given an opportunity.
Pujara has given his name for the upcoming mini-auction which is set to take place on February 18.
"Definitely want to be part of the IPL. Given an opportunity, I am confident I’ll be able to do well,” Pujara said to NDTV.
The 33-year-old last played in the IPL in 2014, representing the King XI Punjab. Pujara played six matches that season and scored 125 runs at a strike rate of 100.80, with a best score of 40*. He was released after that campaign and hasn't found a team ever since.
The India No. 3 has played 30 games in his IPL career, representing the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab. Pujara's career IPL average is 20.53, and he has a strike rate of 99.74.
He has one fifty in his IPL career, which came against Kings XI Punjab when he was representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. Pujara scored 51 off 48 balls. However, RCB went on to lose that encounter.
Given the way Cheteshwar Pujara went about his business in the recently-concluded Test series against Australia, it remains to be seen whether any franchise would look to buy him or not.
Cheteshwar Pujara's performance in Australia
Cheteshwar Pujara won many plaudits for his gutsy show Down Under, which helped India win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy again.
The batsman might not have scored a mountain of runs like he did in the 2018-19 series, but his ability to occupy the crease and bat out time while tiring the opposition bowlers went a long way in helping India win.
Cheteshwar Pujara finished the series with 271 runs at an average of 33.88, scoring three fifties in the process. In the 2018-19 series, the batsman had amassed 521 runs at an average of 74.43 along with three centuries.