(MENAFN- NewsBytes)
Pujara hits maiden T20 ton, says franchises might notice him
22 Feb 2019
Over the years, Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has been ignored by the IPL franchises.
In December 2018, the same thing happened once again. Nobody bid for him as he went unsold.
But it looks like he is here to prove them wrong. Yesterday, Pujara slammed his maiden T20 ton in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Post the match, he opened up about IPL snub.
Pujara slammed 61-ball 100* against Railways
T20 ton
On Thursday, Pujara slammed a 61-ball 100* against Railways.
The right-handed batsman hit 14 fours and a six in his unbeaten knock.
However, Pujara's innings went in vain as Railways won the match with two balls to spare.
Pujara has been in fine form in recent times and was the star of the show in Australia during the four-match Test series.
A look at Pujara's exploits in white-ball cricket
Fact
Pujara last featured in the IPL way back in 2014. He has 390 runs, to his name, in 30 matches with a single fifty. His strike-rate of 99.74 worked against him. Notably, he has played only five ODIs and not even a single T20I.
I am not surprised by this century: Pujara
Views
Pujara told ESPN, "This was expected because I have done well whenever I have got the opportunity in white-ball cricket. I am not surprised by this century, but I am sure many people are."
"This is the right time. I have been really batting well. Good form in Test cricket can help you bat well in shorter formats," added the star played.
IPL auctions: Pujara explains the reason behind putting his name
Fact
"I am very confident about playing white ball, whether it is ODI or T20. If I am not picked, I am not picked. But with such results, if I can carry on like this, people will start noticing. Even franchises might take notice," said Pujara.
Pujara will want to continue in the same vein
Runs
Pujara will hope that he continues in the same vein and scores as many runs as possible in the T20 tourney.
Consistent performances and runs under his belt would help him in the next IPL auction.
He wants to take a cue from New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who has performed well with traditional cricketing shots, despite not being known as a T20 player.
Pujara looks up to Kane Williamson
Fact
"If you look at his (Kane Williamson) T20 batting- he even got an Orange Cap in the IPL (2018)- most of his shots are cricketing shots. That is what I look up to. I like to make runs similarly," concluded Pujara.
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