"Unbelievable Comeback By Cheteshwar Pujara": Former Selector MSK Prasad To NDTV

Days after the squads were announced for India's upcoming five-match T20 International (T20I) series against South Africa and the one-off Test against England, former chief selector MSK Prasad spoke to NDTV about Cheteshwar Pujara's comeback, Umran Malik and more. Pujara was left out of the squad for India's two-match series at home against Sri Lanka, but then went and scored runs aplenty for Sussex in the County Championship to make it tough to leave him out of the upcoming Test in England.

Speaking about the veteran batter, MSK Prasad called it an “unbelievable comeback”.

“Unbelievable. Only one word I can say is unbelievable comeback. This shows the commitment he has towards the sport and himself. It's a wonderful story,” Prasad told NDTV.

“Not many people would have believed what he has done. I think credit to him, the way he performed  in the County to stake his claim in the Test team. Because all through his career he has always been a Test cricketer, and had he not been there in this team, I think we would have missed him forever,” he said.

“It's only through his sheer performances. Otherwise, when we lost that South Africa series, not many people would have thought that he will make a comeback. But hats off to him. I think if he can do well and win this Test series for us, he will definitely have another couple of years of Test cricket career,” the former selector claimed.

Speaking about Umran Malik, Prasad emphasised on the need to groom him and said that now that he has been picked, selectors must back him even if he has a few poor outings.

“What's happening right now is that we don't have too many India A tours happening right now. Had there been an India A tour, we would have straightaway put him into India A