Cheteshwar Pujara 8th best athlete in the world worth investing in according to US website

Cheteshwar Pujara

25-year-old Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s top-order batsman in Test cricket, has been named in a list of top ten future investments in sports worth making by a US-based sports website, sportsonearth.com.

In an article titled, “The top 10 sports pro stock options”, Pujara is named at 8th position, ahead of German F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, the current F1 drivers’ champion. The list is headed by Brazilian footballer Neymar, who signed for Barcelona at the start of the current season.

The list looks at the current athletes in the world who have a good future ahead of them in their respective sport and are worth investing in for greater return in the future.

Pujara made his debut in 2010 against Australia and has played 13 Tests, along with 2 ODIs so far. The Saurashtra batsman has had a stellar start to his career, scoring 1180 runs in Tests at an average of 65.55, scoring 3 half-centuries and 4 centuries in the process, including 2 double centuries.

Pujara recently scored his 3rd triple century in first-class cricket, becoming the 2nd Indian and 9th overall batsman to do so.

Author Robert Weintraub, who has written the books ‘The Victory Season’ and ‘The House That Ruth Built’, and regularly writes for The New York Times and ESPN.com, has said that Pujara, already a big name, is going to get better in the future.

“Indian cricket is in a state of transition, with the Michael Jordan of the sport, Sachin Tendulkar, retiring from competition, and the stalwart captain (and extremely well compensated) Mahendra Singh Dhoni about to turn 33,” writes Weinstraub in the article.

“The canny investor will put his money into the future of the next India captain, who stands to make a modest income on the field (Dhoni clears about USD 3.5 million), but rake it in when it comes to endorsements. Cheteshwar Pujara is already considered the game’s next top batsman, and at 25 he is only getting better. The man who took Rahul Dravid‘s number three spot in the Indian order has already surpassed 200 runs in a single innings eight times in first-class cricket, and soared over 300 thrice, an extraordinary feat.

“And Pujara has yet to fully impact the T20 game, the shorter version of cricket that has exploded on the Indian scene. Provided he stays fit (and Pujara has been injury prone thus far), he could well become the next captain of the national team before he hits thirty. And then the endorsement dollars will handsomely pay off for his shareholders,” Weinstraub concludes.

Full list:

1. Neymar – Football2. Mike Trout – Baseball3. Kyrie Irving – Basketball4. Andrew Luck – NFL5. Billy Horschel – Golf6. Gennady Golovkin – Boxing7. Clayton Kershaw – Baseball8. Cheteshwar Pujara – Cricket9. Sebastian Vettel – F110. Zhang Shuai – Tennis