Son of former Ranji player Arvind Pujara, Cheteshwar Pujara has always shown an appetite for runs. After his First Class debut in 2005, Cheteshwar led the run charts consistently beginning with the Under-19 World Cup the next year. Scores as big as his had not been seen on the domestic circuit since VVS Laxman was a youngster trying to seal his place in the team. Pujara's tools were simple classical batting principles mixed with the stern discipline and focus needed to build mammoth innings.

Pujara had already notched up a triple hundred at the Under-14 level and he followed it up with many big scores including three triple hundreds for Saurashtra in age group tournaments and in the Ranji Trophy Super League. He was signed up by KKR before the inaugural IPL but ill timed injuries saw him miss out most of the first two seasons of the IPL.

Consistent run making saw Pujara make his Test debut against Australia at Bangalore in 2010 and he hit a crucial 72 in the 4th innings chase to help India win the series 2-0. Pujara was also impressive in hostile conditions in his next assignment, the tour of South Africa, as India famously levelled the series at Durban.

Snapped up by RCB ahead of the 2011 IPL, he played only 7 games before picking up a serious knee injury while fielding in a game against KTK.

RCB Highlights

RCB vs. DC, Hyderabad, 2011
As a batsman in the classical mould batting at no.7 in a T20 game, one cannot expect much, but Pujara came out in this situation and lent support to Kohli at the other end who was set. Pujara didn't just rotate the strike but also helped the run rate with his 25 off 15 to keep the match alive. His dismissal in the 17th over saw the game slip away but his fighting knock showed that he could adapt just as well to any format of the game.