The BGT legacy of Pujara

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024 kicks off on November 22^nd as Team India travels to Australia. The series promises to be an exciting clash between two cricketing giants. However, the series will be missing a familiar face: Cheteshwar Pujara - a stalwart of Indian Test cricket. Pujara's absence is a significant loss for the team, especially considering his exceptional record against Australia.

Pujara averages 50.82 in BGT, higher than his test career average of 43.60. This series is very special for him because his batting average against the SENA teams (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) barring Australia is way less than his career average. If we look closer, his BGT batting averages in both home (54.73 in 13 matches) and away series (47.28 in 11 matches) show his complete dominance against Australia. 

Pujara has scored a total of 2033 runs in BGT, highest among the active players. Virat Kohli, currently second on the table (48.26 avg in 24 matches), is just 54 runs behind Pujara. Smith with a phenomenal BGT record (65.06 avg in 18 matches) is standing next with a total of 1887 runs. 

Pujara is often remembered for his perseverance more than the number of runs he scored over the years. This perception is true because of his conscious game plan to play longer, occasionally with his soft hands, and in result, tiring the bowlers out. If we filter out the data for number of balls played and runs scored by an Indian batter in BGT when Pujara was in playing-XI, the result will show the perseverance of Pujara.

Compared to Kohli (second highest run scorer after Pujara), Pujara played on an average 25% more balls (per inning) whereas scored only 2% more runs (per inning). No other Indian batter comes close to these two in terms of spending time on the crease. 

Pujara has been the bastion of resilience against the unstoppable Australian attack. Looking at the records, Pujara vs Nathan Lyon has been the most interesting matchup in BGT.

Against Lyon, Pujara not only played the highest number of deliveries (27%) but also scored most of his runs (28%).

Interestingly, Pujara got out 13 times to Lyon, again, his maximum against any bowler in BGT. On an average, Pujara has been bowled out close to every 100 balls by Lyon (13 times), Cummins (7 times), and Hazelwood (6 times) whereas Starc’s record against Pujara (and against India) is quite poor (approx. 250 balls per wicket). 

Since the introduction of the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2019, teams have revamped their approach towards test cricket. A result is warranted and cherished to gain access to the WTC final. In this period of five years, Pujara has scored a total of 1769 runs with an average of mere 30. If we compare the batting average of Indian batters in this time span, Pujara is at the bottom of the table (for minimum 1200 runs scored). 

While Pujara ranks 27^th among international batters in terms of runs scored during this period, the more significant concern is his declining batting form. Pujara last played against Australia in 2023 BGT, hosted by India. In this edition, he scored a total of 140 runs with an average of 28. His only hundred in this time span was almost two years back against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2022. Pujara's recent poor form has resulted in his exclusion from the BGT 2024 squad, since his peers have demonstrated stronger performances and secured their places.

As the Indian team looks forward to facing Australia in the BGT 2024 without Pujara, the cricketing world will be watching with keen interest to see how the team adapts to his absence. While his past achievements are undeniable, the game demands constant adaptation and performance. But the question remains: Can India find a suitable replacement to fill the void left by one of their most reliable batsmen? Only time will tell.