Pujara's roaring ‘I’m still in India's scheme of things' remark after match-winning century for Sussex

Cheteshwar Pujara is down but certainly not out. The experienced right-hander who lost his place in the Indian Test side after the World Test Championship final against Australia, is planning yet another comeback to the side through County cricket. Pujara had scored heaps of runs for Sussex in both red and white-ball formats to force his way back into the Test side last year after he was dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

The veteran of 103 Tests, has started his comeback journey pretty much on the same note this time around too. Pujara, on Friday, smashed his second century in One-Day Cup in just four matches. After hitting an unbeaten 106 against Northamptonshire in his second match of the season, Pujara hit 117* off 113 balls against Somerset to guide Sussex to a four-wicket win while chasing 319. In between, he had also notched up a half-century against Derbyshire.

After the match, the right-hander said he believes he is still in the scheme of things and will be able to make a comeback if he continues to score runs.

“Look, I always try and control the things which I can. It’s always about getting as many runs as possible in whatever games I play,” Pujara was quoted as saying in an interview with Sussex Cricket. "I am still in the scheme of things. So, I hope that the moment I start scoring more runs in first-class games, I will be back in the team. But I will try and be in present, try and take one game at a time,” he stated.

Pujara is correct. This is not the first time he has been dropped from the Test side. He has been ignored either from the XI or from the squad at least four times in his illustrious career but every time he has managed to stage a comeback. This time, however, many believe, that things are a bit different.

At 35, Pujara is not getting any younger and the Indian team management has shown clear signs of moving forward with youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order. Shubman Gill has taken Pujara's position at No.3. Although, the talented right-hander did not have a fruitful series against the West Indies in his new batting position he is expected to get a long run.

Pujara, however, doesn't have to look too far for inspiration, not that he needs much anyway. His teammate Ajinkya Rahane, who was nowhere in the scheme of things even till the home series against Australia, has not made a comeback to the Test side but was also named vice-captain for the recently-concluded two-match series against West Indies.

India's next Test assignment is a long way away. They will play two Tests in South Africa towards the end of this year. “We are not going to play any more Test matches in the next two to three months. The next Test series is in South Africa in December. So, there is a long way to go,” Pujara added.