No Place For MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane As Cheteshwar Pujara Chooses His Greatest Teammates XI

Cheteshwar Pujara featured for India in Tests from 2010 till 2023. He started under MS Dhoni, and when he played his last Test, Rohit Sharma was the skipper. In his long career, Pujara had many big names as his teammates, so picking his "all-time teammates XI" was never going to be easy for the star. So, when he named them, it made for an interesting list. "My best playing XI with the players I have played with," Pujara started the video.

Speaking in a video for Cricinfo, Pujara chose to open the innings with Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag. "I am putting myself at number three," he said.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli were the number four and five picks. Then Pujara picked VVS Laxman at number six. Interestingly, Ajinkya Rahane's name was missing. Pujara then picked Rishabh Pant as the preferred wicketkeeper. MS Dhoni's name was also missing. The bowling attack consisted of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

"Also, I'll pick another seamer, which is Ishant Sharma at number 12. So, depending on the conditions, I might go with three seamers, and I haven't added a fast-bowling all-rounder, but if the need be, I might choose Hardik (Pandya) somewhere in that list," he said.

Meanwhile, in a video by Cricinfo, he was asked about Mohammed Siraj. Does Mohammed Siraj make your top 20 Indian Test fast bowlers? "Yes, he is definitely there," he replied.

When he was asked if Siraj is in the top 10, Pujara replied: "Yes, I would say so because of his performances overseas as well as in India, and also the amount of effort he puts in for the team. He is definitely there in the top 10."

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Cheteshwar Pujara MS Dhoni Ajinkya Rahane India Cricket Team Cricket