"Ready for the next challenge" - Cheteshwar Pujara gears up as Indian Test team departs for England

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara took to Instagram on Thursday to share a picture ahead of the Test team's departure to England for the rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham.

The 95-Test veteran is seen posing with teammates Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Prasidh Krishna and former captain Virat Kohli in the photo.

Pujara captioned the post:

"Ready for the next challenge, UK bound".

Apart from the aforementioned names, fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah and skipper Rohit Sharma, among others, were given a break post the IPL season. With the exception of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, who are partaking in the ongoing T20 series against South Africa, the rest of the Test squad is set to depart for the UK later today, having assembled in Mumbai.

Cheteshwar Pujara makes a comeback for the rescheduled Test against England

After a string of inconsistent showings, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were left out of India's home series against Sri Lanka in March this year. The Saurashtra veteran then turned out for Sussex in Division 2 of the County Championship and compiled a massive 720 runs from five games at an average of 120.

His exploits saw him rack up four hundreds, including two double-centuries and an unbeaten 170, that has catapulted him back into the Indian Test squad.

India currently lead the five-Test series against England by a 2-1 margin, with the final game having to be rescheduled from last year owing to the breakout of COVID-19 cases within their camp. With KL Rahul a doubtful starter for the Test, Pujara could well make his comeback in the playing XI.

The pending Test will be played at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham from July 1. India will also play a four-day warm-up fixture against Leicestershire starting June 24.