Cheteshwar Pujara may not have displayed the elegance of Virat Kohli’s cover drives, Rohit Sharma’s pull shots, or Rishabh Pant’s audacious hooks, but with sound technique, unshakable temperament, and remarkable patience, he carved his own legacy in Indian Test cricket. In an era dominated by T20 cricket, Pujara stood tall as a specialist in the longest format, proving his worth across conditions.
From 2013 to 2023, Pujara became the backbone of India’s batting line-up, featuring in more than 100 Test matches and scoring over 7000 runs. His contribution was not defined by strike rate or sixes but by the time he spent at the crease, grinding out bowlers and wearing down some of the fiercest attacks in the world. For a decade, he was India’s reliable anchor, the player who held the innings together while stroke-makers played around him.
If Virat Kohli was the architect of India’s modern batting dominance, then Pujara was the foundation that held it firm. His style reminded cricket fans of a bygone era, where resilience and discipline in Test cricket defined greatness.
Pujara’s journey was also shaped by his father, Arvind, a former first-class cricketer who, despite limited resources, instilled in him the belief that Test cricket is the purest form of the game. While many called his approach unconventional in the T20-dominated age, Pujara’s philosophy and execution made him India’s ‘new wall’ after Rahul Dravid.
