Cheteshwar Pujara's batting is a throwback to eras gone by, not so much in technique - he is unusually bottom-handed for someone who pays his bills through Test cricket - as in temperament. He steps down to spinners but keeps the ball along the carpet, he doesn't tire of scoring runs no matter the opposition or venue, his fitness is more about what is required for batting for long periods as opposed to bulging biceps with tattoos on them.

Son and pupil of former Ranji player Arvind, Pujara grew up piling on big scores even as a boy: a triple-century in Under-14 cricket, and a double against England in Under-19. Yet for years and years Pujara's first-class runs were scoffed at: he played for cricketing backwaters Saurashtra, and Rajkot, his hometown, is known for one of the flattest tracks in India. Pujara worked harder than most to be taken seriously, and his chance in Tests came in his sixth year in first-class cricket, behind contemporaries who had made a name through limited-overs cricket. Pujara grabbed the chance when it arrived: after getting out to a shooter in his first Test innings, he came in ahead of Rahul Dravid at No. 3 and waltzed his way to an excellent 72 in a tricky chase against Australia in Bangalore in October 2010.

Pujara had already scored a triple-century and two doubles before he made his Test debut, but after the debut he injured his knee during an IPL game, which kept him out for much of 2011. When Pujara came back to Test cricket, Dravid had retired, and he responded with centuries against all three touring sides that season: New Zealand, England and Australia, in the process becoming the joint-fastest Indian to 1000 Test runs in terms of Tests played to get there. In between he found enough time to rattle another domestic triple, but people were not scoffing any more. His Test exploits didn't earn him much attention when it came to the limited-overs format, but a breakthrough performance in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy 2012-13, where he hit two hundreds and a fifty in three innings, put himself firmly in the selector's radar. He was called up to join the India tour of Zimbabwe, but didn't do too much to earn favour.

Meanwhile, Pujara's Test form dipped as he managed only 423 runs in eight Tests in England and Australia in 2014. Pujara had stints with Derbyshire and Yorkshire the next year.
Sidharth Monga