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Cheteshwar Pujara's persistent hard work and resilience paid off on Sunday (May 22) when he was picked in India's Test squad for the away lone Test match against England which is scheduled to be played from July 1 to July 5.
Pujara made the right noise in the County Championship playing for Sussex with a stellar show including his two double tons loaded with couple of centuries. In five matches for Sussex, Pujara amassed 720 runs (6, 201 not out, 109, 12, 203, 16, 170 not out).
Meanwhile in a conversation with Sports Tak, Pujara expressed his happiness on returning to India fold after being snubbed from the Test squad once. He said he is glad that his recent County blitz were recognised.
"I am glad to have been selected for the England Test, and happy that my recent county performances were recognized. Having spent some time in the middle during the county games, I do believe it will keep me in good stead as we get ready for the game against England. As always, looking forward to preparing and training well ahead of the tour, and do hope to continue contributing to the Indian team," Pujara told Sports Tak.
The fifth Test, which was postponed last year due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp
Going through a poor run of form, Pujara had been left out of India's home Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year but he made a return to the squad after producing a scintillating performance for Surrey.
Playing for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, Pujara had also hit 91 against Mumbai and 64 not out against Goa.
Pujara has scored 6713 runs at 43.87 in 95 Tests for India.
Apart from Pujara, Shreyas Iyer has also been considered for the imminent rescheduled Test against England. This will be the first time Rohit Sharma will be captaining India in England and much will be expected from him while KL Rahul will be seen in the deputy role.
India's Test squad:
Rohit Sharma (Capt), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
