When you say resilience, right now, in the world of cricket, there's only one name that comes to my mind: Cheteshwar Pujara. Born in Gujarat, he was exposed to cricket at a very young age. His father used to play for Saurashtra in Ranji Trophy and domestic cricket. In a world that appreciates 10 over and 20 over, quicker formats of cricket, which offer no time to settle down and play an inning, where the word "resilience" is non-existent, long-format cricket is being kept alive by players like him.
Che-Pu made his test debut against Australia in a home series back in 2010. I still remember watching that series where the Australian bowling attack was ruthless. Top-order batsmen like VVS Laxman and Sehwag were getting hit badly and got injured. Pujara came in and got out very soon. He made only 4 or 5 runs that day. In the 2nd innings, MSD had promoted him up the order, and he scored a scintillating 70-odd. That was a knock of pure grit and determination. He pissed the Aussies off very quickly. I was amazed; the whole of India was amazed. Then he went on to play very good cricket until he had to undergo surgeries on both his knees. That set him aback by 3 years in cricket.
The most remarkable thing about Indians is their comeback, and he was no exception. He came back strong, very strong. Despite not getting any more opportunities in ODI cricket, he carried his good form for years together in test cricket. One of his greatest knocks, some call it his career-defining knock, came in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, in 2017. It was being played in India. I happened to watch the whole 3rd test which was being played at Ranchi. Smith and Maxwell had put up a valiant show of their quality by scoring centuries. India was in an uncomfortable-of-sorts situation. Then came Pujara with big responsibilities to put India in a good position. He batted on and on and on for days together. He faced 500+ deliveries and scored an impeccable double ton. Wriddi Saha deserves credit as well, for his century, which helped India draw the match. If grit and resilience ever had a real-life manifestation, it was him. That day he became my favourite test cricketer and earned every last bit of respect.
The reason why I say this is because Australian bowling has always been ruthless. Banter, sledging, and killer bouncers are a part and parcel of the BGT. It takes a lot to get hit, score runs, stand in the middle and make a statement. He did it again, during the final day of the 5th test at Gabba. He got hit on every other part of his body and scored a 70-odd before getting out. After that came a decline in his batting performance for almost 2 years. Just like every star player does, he went back to ground zero and played county cricket in England. He has been playing county cricket for a long time, and in 2022, he played for Sussex. He went bonkers and seemingly was on a run-heist, or maybe a century-heist.
There are players like Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar, who were equally good or better for their time. I still love watching the recordings of old matches. I happen to fall into this timeline where I got to witness Pujara playing. Tomorrow he is all set to play his 100th test match for India in Arun Jeitly stadium in Delhi. Let us take a moment to congratulate and appreciate his efforts and contributions to the game of Cricket.
All the best champion, I can't wait to see a big inning in the ensuing few days.
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