Arjuna Award will motivate me to continue working hard, says Cheteshwar Pujara

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: Team India's Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara and 16 others have been chosen for the prestigious Arjuna Award this year.

The Saurashtra batsman was esctatic with the honour and could not contain his excitement.

"It's a huge honour for me. To be recognized and acknowledged for your hard work feels really special. This award gives me the motivation to continue working hard on my game and do well for the country," the 29-year-old told TOI on Tuesday.

Pujara has been in excellent form in the last one year as he scored 1687 runs from 19 Tests at an impressive average of 62.48. He scored 6 Test tons in the last 12 months.

In the recently concluded 3-match Test series against hosts Sri Lanka, Pujara scored 309 runs from three games.

"Going into the Test series, I wanted to continue batting the way I have in the last one-and-half years. I was well-prepared for it since I went to play county cricket (for Nottinghamshire) ahead of the series. Also, I had played in Lanka during the 2015 series and that gave me a lot of confidence," Pujara added.

Pujara felt the current Indian Test team possessed strong bench strength. "Whoever has come into the playing XI has gone on to make a contribution. Players such as Kuldeep Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Karun Nair and even Abhinav Mukund have all performed when given opportunities. Also, our batsmen have been scoring consistently," Pujara stated.

In the coming weeks, Pujara could be going back to playing county cricket in Nottinghamshire to be in the best possible shape ahead of the new season.

During the second Test against Sri Lanka, Pujara became the joint second-fastest Indian batsman to 4,000 Test runs, reaching the milestone in his 84th innings, the same as former captain Rahul Dravid needed when he did so in August 2001. 

Pujara now slots behind Virender Sehwag (81 innings) and Sunil Gavaskar (81) in the all-time list of Indian batsmen.