Cheteshwar Pujara desperate to shed 'Test specialist' label

When the stylish right-handed batsman broke into the scene, people were quick to label him as the next Rahul Dravid. But similar to problems Dravid faced in the beginning of his career, Pujara has struggled to shed the tag of being a 'Test specialist', and establish himself in the one-day team.

Pujara has featured in just five ODI matches so far, the last of which came 18 months back.

"I've always believed that it's only a perception that I could play only one way. Even in Test matches, when I get going, my strike rate is not that bad. I am very confident that I can be an equally good player in one-dayers and T20," said Pujara to Cricbuzz.

Pujara also spoke about his learning experience in county cricket, initially with Derbyshire in 2014, followed by a stint at Yorkshire in 2015.

"You learn a lot by playing against the moving ball in those conditions. The great thing about county cricket is the knowledge sharing that happens. Overall, I enjoyed my experience there," he added.

Pujara featured in five test matches in 2015 and scored 347 in eight innings. The Saurashtra cricketer looked back on what was a 'productive' year for him.

"This year has been a productive one for me. I think I have managed to contribute to Indian team's cause even though I haven't scored a lot in the year.

"The Colombo innings was very satisfying as it helped the team win the game. The knock against South Africa in Mohali (78 in the second innings) was also very important," he said.