Cheteshwar Pujara, worried about the popularity of the T20 cricket, hopes that the traditional Test format does not die a slow death.
“Times are changing and cricket with white balls has become popular. But test cricket is always something special and it will always be something special. Let’s hope it stays that way for as long as possible,” Pujara was quoted in“ ESPNcricinfo ”.
The ICC has recently proposed making test cricket a four-day affair from 2023, but the idea has been rejected by some of the game’s greats, such as Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
Pujara, who scored his 50th-century first class in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and thereby also entered an elite list of cricketers, said that this would boost his confidence before India’s upcoming New Zealand test tour. On Saturday, Pujara joined a select group of cricket greats by achieving the feat in Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy Group B game against Karnataka in Rajkot.
“If you accomplish something like this before such tours, you will feel confident and start trusting your game again.”
“That’s because when you go abroad and play in difficult conditions, you have to trust your game and your preparation.”
“It’s actually the right time – we’re going to New Zealand soon, so it’s good for preparation. Whenever you score, you are very confident and you get your rhythm back. “
With his 50th century first-class, Pujara joined nine Indians led by Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid.
On the list of active players, he is fourth behind the English Alastair Cook (65), the South African Hashim Amla (52) and Indian Wasim Jaffer (57).
The 31-year-old has represented India in 75 Tests, from which he has 5740 runs at an average of almost 50.
His limited-overs career never really took off though. Pujara has played five games from which he has only 51 runs.
