Veteran Indian Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is back at his best after enduring a lean patch in the last 2 to 3 seasons.
Pujara is in the midst of a dream county season for Sussex. The Saurashtra cricketer has smashed as many as two double-hundreds and a hundred in the three matches he has played thus far.
The gritty cricketer seems to be getting his mojo back as far as grinding big scores is concerned, something we didn't see from him in the past 2 to 3 seasons.
His father and coach, Arvind Pujara, is understandably chuffed to bits.
Speaking to PTI, Pujara's father reckoned that the lack of constant game-time in domestic cricket due to the global pandemic was the primary reason behind the former No.3's struggles in Test cricket in the last two years.
"I feel the lack of game time was a big reason why he could not be consistent over the past three seasons," he said.
"When you play the likes of Australia and England, you have to be on the top of your game as you don't get loose balls that you may get at the domestic level," he added.
Pujara was dropped from the Test team following an extended lean-patch after the series defeat to South Africa earlier this year.
"There were not enough games for him to play at the domestic level to be ready for bigger battles. That I feel impacted his consistency at the highest level."
"Now that he is getting to play regularly, you can see the consistency is back in his game," he added. Pujara is doing everything in his control to regain his spot in the Test team, but his father's message is clear, "keep working hard, and rest will follow."
The 33-year-old played four back-to-back tough series since the pandemic, and with no domestic cricket to fall back on and him being a one-format player, he found it tough to stitch long, impactful innings, something he used to do consistently.
"Selection is in the hands of selectors. So I just told him that you need to keep working hard, keep putting in the effort day in and day out and rest will follow," he said.
"It is every cricketer's dream to play for India and no different for Cheteshwar, but you also play for the love of the game. The fact he is playing County Cricket at the moment shows that he just wants to be out in the middle."
Pujara will look to continue his stellar form in the upcoming games as he presses for a recall to the team for the fifth and final Test of the Pataudi Trophy against England later this summer.