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The cricket community and fans extended warm wishes to veteran Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara as he turned 36 on Thursday (January 25). Pujara was last seen on the field during the Ranji Trophy match between Saurashtra and Vidarbha earlier this week.
He has been ignored by the Indian team selectors over the past few red-ball series. The World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia in June last year was his final appearance for India.
Cheteshwar Pujara was then overlooked for West Indies, South Africa, and the ongoing Test series against England. Team management and selectors have opted to go with young Shubman Gill at the number 3 position in Pujara's absence.
Pujara has played in the County Championship and Ranji Trophy during his time away from International cricket. He recently became the fourth Indian cricketer to score over 20000 runs in FC career. He joined an elite list comprising of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
On the occasion of Pujara's 36th birthday, members of the cricket fraternity and fans were quick to wish him well on social media platforms. His former Indian teammate Gautam Gambhir led the way with a post on X. Soon, others joined him in wishing Pujara a wonderful birthday.
Here are some of the wishes:
"Because of him, India won Tests in Australia and England"- Harbhajan Singh on Cheteshwar Pujara
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh recently put his weight behind Cheteshwar Pujara and criticized the selectors for dropping him from the Test team. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel on the matter, he said:
"If you look at the previous record Pujara has the same contribution as Kohli had. I don't understand why Pujara has been left out, we still don't have a better batter than Pujara in Test cricket. He plays slowly but he saves you, because of him India won Tests in Australia and England.
Do you think selectors should give another chance to Pujara in the upcoming Tests? Let us know your opinions in the comments section.
