Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 18th double-century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 game against Chhattisgarh. Additionally, Pujara has hit 66 centuries in First-class cricket and 25 centuries in Ranji Trophy career. He is an exceptional player who deserves a chance to make a comeback in the Indian team since he has consistently scored runs. He is undoubtedly one of the most consistent players in the history of the game and this double century was a message for the selectors since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is coming.
In 348 balls, he scored a double century including 22 boundaries. He is an absolute legend and his dedication and perseverance in the tournament are commendable. Apart from him, Sheldon Jackson scored 62 runs off 106 balls and Arpit Vasavada scored 73 runs off 113 balls. Saurashtra are still trailing by 156 runs against Chhattisgarh as the team put up a mammoth total of 578 runs.
Skipper Amandeep Khare's double century and Sanjeet Desai's century helped the team put a strong total on the board. Khare scored 203 runs in 394 balls and Desai scored 146 runs off 241 balls. They formed a blistering partnership, pushing Saurashtra to their backfoot.
Should Cheteshwar Pujara comeback to the Indian squad?
Cheteshwar Pujara is a terrific player who has played some solid knocks for India in the overseas series. However, due to his inconsistent performance in the Indian team, he was dropped from the team and hasn't made his comeback ever since. He is equivalent to Rahul Dravid as he has played some match-saving knocks for the team. If we look at his stats, from 2019 to 2024, Pujara played in 63 matches and scored 1962 runs at an average of 32.70.
Well, this average isn't that good since he got a lot of chances in the team. He couldn't convert his fifties and centuries. But now, he has again scored tons of runs in the Ranji Trophy tournament. On the other hand, India will require a player like him in the middle order along with Rishabh Pant from the other end to strike a balance as KL Rahul hasn't been able to perform well.
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