Sunil Gavaskar hopes Cheteshwar Pujara gets 100/100

New Delhi, February 17

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The legendary Sunil Gavaskar today hoped Cheteshwar Pujara would become the first Indian to score a century in his 100th Test, adding that the veteran batter has been a role model for “hard work and self-belief”. Pujara became the 13th Indian to reach the 100-Test milestone when he took the field in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia here.

Flanked by his family and teammates, Pujara, the Indian batting mainstay in the longest format of the game, received a special cap from Gavaskar as an honour for his achievements.

“Welcome to the 100-Test club, and I wish and pray you that you become the first Indian to score a big hundred in your 100th Test and lay the foundation for yet another win in Delhi,” said Gavaskar, who featured in 125 Tests.

The former India skipper lauded Pujara for putting his “body on the line for India.” “When you go out to bat, it’s as if you’re taking the India flag with you. You’ve put your body on the line for India. You’ve taken the blows, you got up, and you made bowlers earn your wicket. Every single run you scored is a big plus for India. You’ve been a role model for what hard work, self-belief, and dreams can do,” he added.

The 35-year-old Pujara, who made his Test debut in 2010, has 7,000-plus runs in the format and 19 centuries.

“Legends like you have inspired me. As a young cricketer, I always dreamt of playing for India, but I never thought I’d be playing 100 Test matches for India,” Pujara said.