Kris Srikkanth labelled Cheteshwar Pujara one of the best three Indian batters in Australia’s Test matches after he declared his retirement from all forms of cricket on Sunday, August 24.
After amassing 7195 runs at an average of 43.61 in 103 Test matches, Cheteshwar ended his career. He was instrumental in India’s victories against Australia in the 2018–19 and 2020–21 Border-Gavaskar series. He was selected Player of the Series for the 2018–19 tour. In the meantime, he was India’s second-highest run scorer in 2020–21. By the same score of 2-1, the Asian powerhouses prevailed in both series.
In 11 Test matches in Australia, Cheteshwar amassed 993 runs at an average of 47.28. According to Srikkanth, the 37-year-old’s performances in Australia place him third among Indian batsmen. Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar remained the top two batsmen in the former India captain’s rankings.
“Sachin, Virat, and Pujara should be listed as 1, 2, and 3. As everyone knows, Virat is king and Sachin is god. However, it’s incredible that Pujara was able to perform on par with them in Australia. In order to maximise their chances of taking wickets, fast bowlers always favour hitters who play strokes. However, players like Pujara used their leaving skills to make a dangerous ball appear to be a dead-ball. In a video posted to his YouTube page, Srikkanth said that this was his true strength.
According to Srikkanth, Pujara need to receive more praise and acknowledgement for his contributions to India’s red-ball cricket team. “I am disappointed,” the former said, adding that Pujara ought to have made headlines when he announced his retirement.
“The only thing that irritates me is that Pujara isn’t receiving the credit that someone with more than 100 Tests deserves. No one is referring to him as a big player, even though he has such an amazing record. Everyone is tweeting about him when he retires, but they aren’t giving him the credit he deserves. However, the headlines are dominated by the retirement of so many other cricket players. He stated, “That’s only because he doesn’t play T20S or ODIs.”
Pujara was a miniature wall if Rahul Dravid was the main one: Srikkanth
Pujara’s consistency was praised by Srikkanth, who also underlined how he made his Test debut while Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were still playing. The former India opener also compared Dravid and Pujara’s capacity to exhaust bowlers with their compact defensive strategies.
“Cheteshwar career consistency is what I appreciate about him. He was vying with Rahul Dravid for a berth in the Test team at the beginning of 2010. He was up against many well-known players and joined the team when Sehwag, Tendulkar, and Dravid were present. According to Srikkanth, even Virat Kohli was involved.
He really debuted in Test cricket before Virat Kohli. Remember that position number three is crucial. When it came to wearing down the bowlers, Cheteshwar was an expert. “Cheteshwar was a mini-wall if Rahul Dravid was the wall,” he continued.
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