News cricket Cheteshwar Pujara Picks Best 11 Of His Teammates, Ignores MS Dhoni & Ajinkya RahaneCheteshwar Pujara Picks Best 11 Of His Teammates, Ignores MS Dhoni & Ajinkya RahanePublished By :,Last Updated: August 31, 2026, 23:14 ISTCheteshwar Pujara picks his best playing 11 of former teammates: none of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane make the cut!
2 Quick AnswersCheteshwar Pujara's teammates 11 doesn't have Rahane or Dhoni.
The 11, which was always going to be quite difficult to make, didn’t include some serious heavyweights, including MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma.
Cheteshwar Pujara did not include MS Dhoni in his best XI of former teammates, but the specific reason for this exclusion was not stated in the reporting.
Cheteshwar Pujara's All-Time Teammates XI did not include MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, or Rohit Sharma.
News cricket Cheteshwar Pujara Picks Best 11 Of His Teammates, Ignores MS Dhoni & Ajinkya Rahane
Cheteshwar Pujara Picks Best 11 Of His Teammates, Ignores MS Dhoni & Ajinkya Rahane
Published By :
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Last Updated: August 31, 2026, 23:14 IST
Cheteshwar Pujara picks his best playing 11 of former teammates: none of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane make the cut!
2 Quick Answers
Cheteshwar Pujara's teammates 11 doesn't have Rahane or Dhoni. (Instagram, AFP)
Cheteshwar Pujara has picked his best playing 11 of cricketers with an interesting premise: all of them have to be his former teammates. The former India number three chose five active internationals and six retired, with some of the best batters and bowlers of the 2010s included.
The 11, which was always going to be quite difficult to make, didn’t include some serious heavyweights, including MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma. Pujara’s career spanned 13 years, starting from 2010 and ending with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023, comprising 103 Tests and five ODIs.
Speaking in a video for Cricinfo, Pujara chose to open the innings with his idol and the man he replaced in the Indian team, Rahul Dravid, and Virender Sehwag. Interestingly, Pujara put himself at number three, his and Dravid’s preferred spot, while asking the former India skipper to open.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli made the obvious number four and five picks. Pujara put VVS Laxman at number six over Rahane, with whom he shared the majority of his India Test career.
Rishabh Pant was Pujara’s preferred wicketkeeper over Dhoni, having shared some brilliant partnerships with the Delhi man in Australia. Although the format of this 11 wasn’t provided, it seemed like a Test 11 after this choice. The bowling attack was from India’s peak years in Pujara’s career: two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin and two pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
Pujara also picked a 12th man and made a mention of Hardik Pandya.
“Also, I’ll pick another seamer, which is Ishant Sharma at number 12. So, depending on the conditions, I might go with 3 seamers, and I haven’t added a fast-bowling all-rounder, but if the need be, I might choose Hardik somewhere in that list," he said.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s Teammates 11
Playing 11: Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami
12th man: Ishant Sharma
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Quick Answers Powered by Ask News18 Why did Pujara exclude MS Dhoni from his best XI? Cheteshwar Pujara did not include MS Dhoni in his best XI of former teammates, but the specific reason for this exclusion was not stated in the reporting. Which other prominent players were left out by Pujara? Cheteshwar Pujara's All-Time Teammates XI did not include MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, or Rohit Sharma. Powered by Ask News18
First Published: August 31, 2026, 23:14 IST
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