Future bright, Pujara looks at present

The glimpse of Cheteshwar Pujara driving a good-length delivery through covers at the nets was a moment to savour.

The glimpse of Cheteshwar Pujara driving a good-length delivery through covers at the nets was a moment to savour. The shot showed the sheer class of a batsman being in the classical-mould. Not that this Saurashtra batsman8217;s talent needed any proof.

The right-handed batsman has already caught the imagination of the national selectors with his awesome performance at various junior levels, particulalry his under-19 World Cup performance 8212; he scored 349 at an average of 116.33 8212; at Colombo last February that fetched him the player of the tournament award. Many more assaults followed.

But not just enough for him to earn a national cap as chief of national selectors Dilip Vengsarkar has categorically stated that the upcoming talents will have to go through the grind of the domestic circuit to be able to handle pressures of international matches. And Pujara responded to the call, scoring 515 runs at an average of 73.57 from five Ranji matches so far in the season, including two back-to-back centuries and two half centuries. He is just behind Robin Uthappa of Karnataka in the leading run-getters8217; list. His innings of 139 scored at a crucial stage against Delhi in the last match was largely instrumental in earning Saurashtra an outright win with a bonus point.

His Saurashtra teammate Sitanshu Kotak, who has stitched valuable partnerships with Pujara this seasons, says: 8220;He is totally devoted to cricket. He is very determined and disciplined. He has all the shots in his armoury. Having seen him play from the other end, I know he has a very bright future.8221;

But Pujara is not dreaming of donning the Team India cap yet. 8220;I am just thinking of playing well in the next two Ranji ties. My focus is to perfrom well for Saurashtra. Not looking beyond that,8221; says Pujara.

Saurashtra8217;s Ranji coach Debu Mitra also has high praise for the 18-year-old. 8220;He has a very good temperament. He is very calm and quiet. If he wants he can last through the day. His defence is very strong. And he can play all the shots as well.8221;

Son of former Saurashtra Ranji player Arvind Pujara, Cheteshwar has taken to the rigours of domestic cricket as easily as he had taken to the game at the junior level. 8220;I don8217;t think much 8212; whether I am playing under-19 or Ranji. For me it8217;s a game of cricket. And I play each ball on its merit. In under-19 perhaps one gets more loose deliveries. Here the bowling is very tight.8221;

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However, Cheteshwar Pujara8217;s two centuries this season have come on home ground, on tracks seemingly conducive for batting. So he is yet to come good on pitches which are ruthless for batsmen. 8220;Well, I think his game would suit any kind of track. But there is always room for improvement. Maybe, he needs to improve a bit to play on seaming wickets,8221; said Kotak.