Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has showered praise on Cheteshwar Pujara after the veteran batter called time on his glorious career. Chopra said they don’t make people like him, who was ready to give his everything for the team.
The renowned commentator hailed Pujara for his grit, determination and fighting spirit. Pujara played 103 Tests and 5 ODIs for India after making his debut back in 2010. He scored 7,195 Test runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 hundreds and 35 fifties.
“Cheteshwar Pujara, dependable Pujara, a lot of grit and determination, the fighting spirit. You get him to do any job and he would do it laughing. They don’t make people like him anymore. Players like him don’t come now. A glorious chapter in Indian and international cricket has ended with Puji,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra said Pujara was always ready to do anything for the team.
“It was a pleasure, honor, and privilege to play against and alongside you. The team always came first and he would do anything. He will go through a wall, and he will be the wall. The longest Test knock for India has come from Pujara’s bat. He has batted on all five days of a Test match,” he added.
The reputed commentator reckons Pujara played an instrumental role in Virat Kohli’s successful tenure as India’s Test captain.
“The best of Sachin Tendulkar came when Rahul Dravid was at his best. The same is true for Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. You will find that Virat Kohli’s best in Test cricket were the years when Cheteshwar Pujara was at his very, very best. At times, the No. 3 needs to provide a shield for the No. 4 to perform. You make that marriage happen,” he elaborated.
Meanwhile, Pujara scored 521 runs in four Test matches against the Aussies at an average of 74.43, including three centuries and thus was awarded Player of the Series. Chopra highlighted that Pujara played a key role in India’s maiden Test series win on Australian soil.
“We keep praising India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy wins. The first time you won BGT was on the back of his performances. He scored nearly 600 runs and you could win because of that. Yes, it’s about taking 20 wickets, but it is also about batting time. If you bat for five sessions, you grind the opposing team into the ground, and that’s what Pujara did. The 2018-19 series you won was Pujara’s series,” he said.
“After that, when you won again, he was there too. Maybe not at his best in that series, but he was scoring fifties and fighting. There was no part of the body that didn’t get injured. He didn’t give up, he didn’t give in, he didn’t back out, and that is what defines Pujara. He said, ‘I am standing between you and my country’. There was talk in Australia that they had seen more of Pujara than their partners,” Chopra observed.
On the 2020-21 tour of Australia, Pujara amassed 271 runs in four Test matches at an average of 33.88. Pujara took blows on his body during the historic Gabba Test, in which he scored 56 runs off 211 balls.
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