Rizwan said he had had some quality discussion with Pujara on perception of Indian players about being engaged in bilateral cricket with Pakistan.
Captain Rohit Sharma believes all individuals showed a lot of character and stepped up when needed to take India to the World Test Championship final for the second consecutive time.
Stuart Binny and Cheteshwar Pujara led the way with fluent half centuries as India ended day two of their three-day tour game versus Derbyshire at 341/6, enjoying a useful day of batting practice before the first Test begins at Nottingham on July 9.
Ravindra Jadeja stole the show while Umesh Yadav bowled his heart out.
Murali Vijay (129 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara (162 not out) hit unbeaten centuries to put India in complete control on the second day.
A fit again Wriddhiman Saha was named in the Rest of India squad that will take on first-time Ranji Trophy champions in the Irani Cup to be held in Mumbai from January 20-24.
Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine labelled the SCG pitch as an "absolute disgrace" which was produced for the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Tasmania.
Sunil Gavaskar slammed the Indian team management for fielding an unchanged eleven in the dead rubber against Afghanistan, wondering whether the "fear" of bench players succeeding over current favourites prompted it to play the same team.
Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Burmah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Hanuma Vihari and K S Bharat boarded a flight to Heathrow airport in London early on Thursday morning.
Cheteshwar Pujara surpassed Vijay Merchant's record for the most double hundreds by an Indian in first-class cricket -- a record that stood for almost 70 years. A roundup of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches on Thursday.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer feels incumbent vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will have to consistently score runs to remain in the Test reckoning.
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara started off the 13th edition of DY Patil T20 Cup with an uncharacteristic century to guide Indian Oil to an emphatic 10-wicket win over Air India. Pujara slammed an unbeaten 108 off 73 balls (14x4s, 2x6s) to register the commanding victory for his side. At the University Ground in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, Air India batted first to post 180 for four in their 20 overs.
Rest of India remained firm favourites to win the Irani Cup match in Rajkot
IMAGES from Day 4 of the WTC Final played between Australia and India at The Oval in London on Saturday.
Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara may have drawn criticism for his slow strike rate during the tour of West Indies but India coach Anil Kumble on Wednesday threw his weight behind the batsman saying he is a vital cog in the team's scheme of things and no one has put pressure on him to score quickly.
A collective effort put India in a commanding position on Day 2 of the opening Test against England in Motera on Friday. Having declared their first innings on a mammoth 521 for eight, highlighted by a magnificent 206 not out by Cheteshwar Pujara, the home team reduced the visitors to 41 for three at stumps.
Following their loss in the T20I series to West Indies, the young Indian team, led by Hardik Pandya, faced a lot of criticism and backlash.
After a successful tour of England and Scotland, Saurashtra's young batsman Cheteshwar Pujara speaks exclusively to Rediff.com
The life of Saurabh Kumar, veteran of a decade in domestic cricket, took a sharp turn on Monday when he made the Indian squad for the second Test against England starting in Visakhapatnam on February 2.
Shepherded by Priyank Panchal's spunky innings, West Zone defied South Zone bowlers while chasing a formidable 298 and finished day four of the Duleep Trophy final at 182 for five.
India's batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara sought to play mind games ahead of the second Test against South Africa, saying the visitors had more positives to take from the epic drawn first Test and would look to "build on the gains" from that match.
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara feels it is "impossible" to include both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the playing eleven during the Asia Cup T20 tournament, given the team's settled top-order.
The 21-year-old left-hander has gained 21 slots and reached 17th place, the joint-highest by a specialist India wicketkeeper along with Farokh Engineer, who did so in January 1973.
Sachin Tendulkar turns 40 on Wednesday and the milestone means the sun will soon set on the batting maestro's illustrious career. Ahead of his big day, Tendulkar spoke to The Hindu about his satisfaction with Team India's youngsters, life after the retirement of teammates, dressing room banter and the evolution of batting.
West Zone breezed into the final of the Duleep Trophy on the basis of a huge 475-run first innings lead after their semi-final against North Zone ended in a tame draw in Rajkot on Friday. Resuming at the overnight score of 56 for 1, West Zone declared their second innings at 345 for 7, a few overs before the start of the mandatory overs.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara hit centuries as India reached 311 for one at stumps on the second day against Australia in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
The right-handed Indian opening batsman also emerged the leading run-scorer in the 16-team event with 349 runs.
Rohit maintains that turning tracks remain the team's strength and wants the struggling batters to find a way to score on them.
Cheteshwar Pujara gained a spot to be the highest-ranked Indian batsman at seventh even as R Ashwin remained steady eighth in the bowlers' list of the latest ICC Test rankings released on Sunday.
Virat Kohli and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara held on to their second and seventh position respectively
India's premier Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will play for Team Zalawad Royals in the inaugural Saurashtra Premier League.
South Zone pacers were brilliantly bellicose while reducing West Zone to 129 for 7
Pat Cummins' side stayed in control at the end of Day 2 of the WTC Final.
India dropped both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara from the side following the South Africa tour but brought them back rather than grooming youngsters? Rahane scored the bulk of the runs for India in the WTC final but was going back to him and Pujara the right call?
Central Zone bowlers led by captain Shivam Mavi (4/43) silenced the big guns in the West Zone batting line-up to restrict them to 216 for 8.
India's bid to win a 17th consecutive home Test series, however, hinges on the success of their three-pronged spin attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Still finding his feet in the Twenty20 format, Cheteshwar Pujara knows that he cannot be "flamboyant" like some of his Kings XI Punjab teammates in the IPL but the Indian says he is hoping carve a niche for himself by emulating South African legend Jacques Kallis.
Rahane's comeback after 15 months was on predictable lines
Alastair Cook worries over England's lack of preparation but backs Bazball for success in India
Virat Kohli's last Test century was against Bangladesh in November 2019. Will century 28 come at Chattogram?
