5 prominent batters who ended with fewer Test runs than Cheteshwar Pujara ft. Sir Donald Bradman

Veteran Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara retired from all forms of Indian cricket on Sunday, August 24. He had an illustrious career in the longer format and played for over a decade. Pujara was among those who played a key role in several big wins for India in Tests, including two consecutive Border-Gavaskar Trophy series victories in Australia.

Cheteashwar Pujara played 103 Tests and notched up 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 with 19 hundreds and 35 half-centuries. He made his debut in the longest format in 2010 against Australia at Bengaluru. The right-hander last featured in a Test against Australia during the World Test Championship (WTC) Final in 2023 at The Oval.

The veteran scored more Test runs in his career than some of the greats of Indian cricket, such as Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Gundappa Viswanath, among others. He also scored more in the format than some big names across the globe.

That said, here are five prominent batters who ended with fewer Test runs than Cheteshwar Pujara.

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#5 Michael Hussey

Australia v Sri Lanka - Third Test: Day 3 - Source: Getty

Former Australian middle-order batter Michael Hussey made his Test debut in 2005 against the West Indies. His last appearance in the format came in 2013 against Sri Lanka in Sydney.

Hussey represented Australia in 79 Tests. From 137 innings, the left-hander scored 6235 runs at an average of 51.52 with 19 hundreds and 29 half-centuries. Cheteshwar Pujara and Michael Hussey ended with the same number of Test hundreds, however, the Australian ended with fewer runs overall.

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#4 Brendon McCullum

New Zealand v Australia - 2nd Test: Day 3 - Source: Getty

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter and current England coach Brendon McCullum, known for his aggressive batting and scoring ability even in Test cricket, interestingly ended with fewer runs in the format than Cheteshwar Pujara.

McCullum played 101 Tests, only two fewer than Pujara, and scored 6453 runs at an average of 38.64 with 12 hundreds and 31 fifties. The right-hander also smashed a triple century in the format, scoring 302 against India at Wellington in 2014, a game that also featured Pujara.

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#3 Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka v England - 2nd Test - Source: Getty

Legendary Sri Lankan batter Sanath Jayasuriya was also known for scoring at a relatively quicker pace in Tests. He made his debut in the format in 1991 against New Zealand. The left-hander started as a lower-middle order batter but worked his way through to eventually become an opener.

Jayasuriya featured in 110 Tests and made 6973 runs at an average of 40.07 with 14 hundreds and 32 half-centuries. Even in his final Test against England at Kandy in 2007, he scored 78 in his last innings and signed off on a positive note.

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#2 Sir Donald Bradman

A significant highlight for Cheteshwar Pujara would be ending with more Test runs than the legendary Sir Donald Bradman. However, Bradman played 52 games in the format, way fewer than Pujara's 103.

He made his Test debut in 1928 against England and played his final game against the same opponent in 1948. Bradman scored 6996 runs at an impeccable average of 99.94 with 29 hundreds and 13 half-centuries. Unfortunately, Bradman was dismissed for a two-ball duck in his final Test innings.

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#1 Andrew Strauss

England v Pakistan: 2nd Test - Day Four - Source: Getty

Former England captain and opener Andrew Strauss is the closest to Cheteshwar Pujara on this list. The left-hander made his Test debut against New Zealand at the iconic Lord's in 2004.

Strauss played 100 games and piled on 7037 runs at an average of 40.91 with 21 hundreds and 27 fifties. The former English cricketer had the fortune of playing his Test at Lord's as well, against South Africa in 2012. After that series ended, he also announced his retirement from all formats of international cricket.