India star batter Cheteshwar Pujara received his Arjuna award trophy from Anurag Thakur belatedly on Saturday that he was awarded in 2017. The batsman had been recommended by the BCCI for the prestigious award in 2017 but could not collect it at the time as he was busy playing for his English county team.
“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.
