Pujara Identifies Four Formidable Bowlers from South Africa, England, and Australia

Cheteshwar Pujara, the former Indian batter, recently disclosed the names of the four most challenging bowlers he competed against throughout his international cricket career, shortly after announcing his retirement.

In a post-retirement interview, the 37-year-old cricketer mentioned two South African pacers, one English bowler, and one Australian bowler as the most difficult adversaries he faced while batting.

Pujara specifically named Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel from South Africa, James Anderson from England, and Pat Cummins from Australia.

Statistical data highlights the difficulties he encountered against these bowlers. Pujara’s average against Steyn was only 30, which further decreased to 18 against Morkel. The Proteas duo dismissed him six times in total.

His performance against Anderson was even more notable, with an average of just 21.80 in Test matches and 12 dismissals by the English seamer.

Similarly, Pujara averaged 22.50 against Cummins, and the Australian captain dismissed him eight times.

It’s important to note that Pujara declared his retirement from all formats of Indian cricket on the specified Sunday.

Pujara represented the national team in 103 Test matches and five ODIs after his debut in 2010. He accumulated 7,195 runs in the longer format, maintaining an average of 43.60, which included 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries.

He had an impressive average of 52.58 at home, amassing 3,839 runs. His final Test appearance was in the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in June 2023.

He is also among the three Indian players, along with ML Jaisimha and Ravi Shastri, who have batted on all five days of a Test match.