With his stellar show with the bat in the ongoing County Championship, India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara is sending BCCI a reminder to reconsider him for the role which is meant only for him i.e a place in India's Test squad. Of late on April 30, Pujara, who was going through a perennial form slump in Tests which also led to his ouster from India's Test squad, scored a sensational second double ton for Sussex in the match against Durham at Hove where he scored 203 off 234 balls. With this superb knock he equalled India's former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin's 28-year-old staggering feat in County cricket. Earlier scored an unbeaten 201 against Derbyshire last week at Derby in his first game this season. Overall, his scores in 2022 County tournament reads: 6 (15), 201* (387), 109 (206), 12 (22), 203 (334).
Pujara outpaces Rizwan
On Friday, batting at no.4 Pujara failed to score big against Middlesex as he scored mere 10 runs which was loaded with two boundaries and a maximum with a strike-rate of 160. On the other hand his Sussex's teammate and Pakistan's star batter Mohammad Rizwan took 60 balls to hit as many fours and sixes as he scored 31 runs in 58 balls.
Sussex however were folded to 392 on Day 2 riding on Tom Aslop's 113 off 179 and Ali Orr's 99 off 204 balls. George Garton also contributed with 53 off 79 deliveries. For Middlesex, Shaheen Afridi and Martin Andersson snared three wickets each.
Things were looking up for Sussex as they sought their first win of the season after heavy defeats to Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire plus draws against Durham and Derbyshire left them seventh in Division Two, ahead of only Leicestershire.
Pujara toiling hard to make India's Test squad
Earlier, Pujara became the second Indian to score two such knocks in the County Championship after the former India skipper Azharuddin, who had scored 212 against Leicestershire in 1991 and 205 against Durham in 1994. Both of his knocks came for Derbyshire.
This was also his 15th first-class double-century, which consolidates his place among Asian players in the unique list. Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara stands second on the list with his tally of 13 double tons. Meanwhile, eight batters, overall, have more first-class double-hundreds than the Indian, but none of them remain active.
These runs will keep Pujara in contention for a place in the Indian Test squad for the one match they have against England later this summer. The veteran batter was dropped from the Indian Test team following the series loss in South Africa earlier this year.