India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been presented with the prestigious Arjuna award five years after he was recommended for the honour. Pujara could not attend the awards ceremony back in 2017 due to his cricketing commitments. On Saturday, he finally got his hands on the trophy at a hand over ceremony here.
"Thankful to @IndiaSports @BCCI and @ianuragthakur to organise and handover the Arjuna Award belatedly, which I could not collect the year it was awarded to me due to my cricket commitments. Honoured and grateful," he tweeted after getting the award from Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
Pujara, who plays domestic cricket for Saurashtra, is in the national capital for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
He will be a part of India A squad that will tour Bangladesh ahead of the two-Test series in the neighbouring country next month.
A veteran of 96 Tests, Pujara had made a comeback into the Indian team following exemplary performances in county cricket.