CRICKET

The Indian cricket team has been on a roll in the white-ball format, clinching two ICC trophies in just nine months. But when it comes to red-ball cricket, things haven’t been going as smoothly. They faced back-to-back defeats in series against New Zealand and Australia, which meant they missed out on qualifying for the WTC 2025 final. The absence of Cheteshwar Pujara during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia was definitely felt, and there were even whispers that the star batter might be in line for a comeback.

Now, with just three months to go before the important five-match series against England in June, Cheteshwar Pujara has made his ambitions clear. In a chat with RevSportz, he shared his eagerness to keep representing the Indian Cricket Team and is putting in the effort by playing in domestic matches. Plus, he’s been sharpening his skills by participating in county cricket over the past few years.

"Yes, of course. As a cricketer, you always want to play for the Indian team. And I am doing whatever I can to achieve that success. If the team needs me, I'm definitely ready. I've been playing domestic cricket. I've been playing county cricket for the last couple of years. I've been scoring heavily in the domestic circuit. So if given an opportunity, yes, I'll be more than ready to grab it with both hands," Pujara said.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who last represented India in the WTC 2023 final against Australia, expressed confidence that had he been included in the India squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, they would have achieved a hat-trick of series victories Down Under.

"Yes, I was very confident. If I was there, then we wanted to make a hat trick. So I wouldn't deny that," he added.

India is gearing up to take on England in a five-match Test Series this June, aiming to kick off their World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign with a bang. Cheteshwar Pujara is feeling optimistic about the team's chances of clinching their first Test Series win in England, especially since the bowling lineup has been weakened by the retirements of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. This really opens the door for India to demonstrate their prowess and make a statement on the global cricket scene.

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• Ind vs Eng
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Indian Cricket Team
• BCCI
• India Vs England
• Ajit Agarkar