Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane has shared a story about Cheteshwar Pujara. He recalled how the right-handed batter was not interested in fielding after his innings in a Test. Rahane revealed that the young guns in the squad were stationed in close areas as Pujara’s substitute. Rahane had to stand at short leg in place of the Saurashtra cricketer on many occasions.
“I was the 12th man when he batted. He didn’t want to field after his batting and used to sit inside. The youngsters were told to take his place. I went to the short leg for him and took hits on my body,” the 38-year-old said on Sony Sports Network.
Both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were the backbones of Team India’s batting unit and won several matches for the national team. Pujara announced his retirement in 2025, finishing with 7,195 runs from 103 Tests.
On the other hand, Rahane amassed 5,077 runs from 85 Tests before bidding adieu last month.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are working as commentators in the SL vs IND Test series
Ajinkya Rahane started his new innings as a commentator after retiring from all forms of the game. The former skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) agreed to come on board as one of the experts in the ongoing two-Test bilateral assignment in Sri Lanka. Pujara is not new to the commentary box and has been describing the action for the viewers since India’s last tour of England in 2025.
Meanwhile, India posted 462 in the first innings of the series opener against the hosts, with Devdutt Padikkal scoring 167 off 230 balls. KL Rahul (82) and Dhruv Jurel (51) also batted well for the Shubman Gill-led team. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 284, with Manav Suthar taking four wickets. Ravindra Jadeja dismissed three batters while Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket each.
For Sri Lanka, Sonal Dinusha scored a hundred. Niroshan Dickwella, who was recalled to the side, managed 80 runs. Dinusha and Dickwella’s 146-run stand for the fifth wicket saved Sri Lanka from follow-on.
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