Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara will not be available to receive the prestigious Arjuna award due to his commitment to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in England. Pujura along with 18 athletes who have been chosen for the 2017 Arjuna awards.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th August which happens to be National Sports Day.

“I am truly honoured and grateful for being conferred with the Arjuna Award. Unfortunately, I will not be able to receive the award in person due to my commitment to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in England,” said Pujara in a statement.

The batsman further added that: “My dedication to the game has made me what I am, and though it would have been an honour to attend the award ceremony, grabbing any opportunity to play this wonderful game has always been of utmost importance’’.

Pujara last played for the national team was during the recent three match Test series against Sri Lanka where he managed to score 309 runs at 77.25. In terms of overall India stats, Pujara has scored 4107 runs in 51 Test at an average of 52.65.

Pujara is set to resume County Championship for Nottinghamshire, for the final four games of the 2017 season. Pujara is in rich form, slamming 2 centuries of the 3 Tests he played in Sri Lanka and was one of the contenders for the Player of the Series.