Former India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara played 30 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over five seasons for various franchises. However, arguably his fondest moment might have been when he was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2021 auction for a sum of ₹50 lakh.When the purchase was confirmed by the auctioneer, it led to a warm round of applause in the room, by many of the owners and officials who were seated in their respective tables.Watch the video of the moment here:Pujara had expressed excitement about featuring in the league once again after seven long years. He had said he looked forward to playing with MS Dhoni again."I will be playing with (MS) Dhoni bhai again... he was the captain of the Test team when I made my debut. I have fond memories of playing under Mahi bhai and look forward to playing with him again," Pujara had said in a video shared by CSK on X (formerly Twitter).Cheteshwar Pujara becomes IPL winner with Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021Cheteshwar Pujara did not play a single match for CSK in IPL 2021. However, he was part of the squad which won the league in the United Arab Emirates. When he was picked at the IPL 2021 auction, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan had said Pujara could have a role to play at the top of the order."He can be a player who can contribute a lot to CSK. That’s what we felt and that is the reason why we picked him. He will certainly have a role to play (up the order), but I cannot say whether he will play the first game or the second game. That is not the question (also). He is an important part of our group and we look forward to his contribution," he had said (via India TV).Overall, Pujara played in 30 IPL matches, scoring 390 runs at a strike rate of 99.74. His last appearance in the league came in 2014.