It was a dream come true moment for me – Cheteshwar Pujara recalls his Test debut

India’s talisman batter Cheteshwar Pujara reflected back on his glorious Test career. The second Test match between India and Australia in Delhi will be Pujara’s 100th Test match and it has been a wonderful journey for the Saurashtra batter since then.

Pujara is currently preparing for the first Test match against the Aussies in Nagpur. Meanwhile, Pujara made his Test debut against Australia in 2010 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in the presence of stalwarts like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan Singh.

The right-hander could only manage four runs in the first innings but he scored 72 runs in the second dig against the visitors to help India register a seven-wicket win. Pujara revealed it was a dream come true for him when he made his Test debut.

“It’s been a great journey. As a child, it was my dream to represent my country. And when I made my Test debut, it was a dream come true moment for me. There’ve been ups and downs in my journey, no doubt about that. Unfortunately, there have been years where I missed out because of my injuries, especially on in my career.”

Pujara continued: “After that, looking back all these years I’ve been with the Indian team, there have been many achievements, many players I’ve played with many coaches I’ve worked with. I couldn’t ask more as a player.”

Meanwhile, Pujara suffered a knee injury back in 2009, which was scary for him. The 35-year-old had doubts about his future after suffering that blow but bounced back in style to prove his mettle.

“In 2009, when I suffered that injury on my left knee for the first time, I wondered what would happen to my cricketing future because I had never been injured before that. So, that was very challenging.”

He added: “However, when I suffered it for the second time, in 2011 on my right knee, I was more confident. I knew that I had suffered it earlier too, so I can come out of it. After that, I’ve never looked back with God’s grace, I’ve never suffered a major injury like that.”

The first Test match between India and Australia will be played in Nagpur from February 9.