Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has praised Cheteshwar Pujara, saying that India’s Test specialist reminds him of former South Africa opener Hashim Amla. He further said that a player with Pujara’s temperament is ‘terrific’ for the team.

However, after having experienced a series of poor shows, Pujara finally scored a half-century in India’s second innings of the second Test. He scored 53 off 86 deliveries, adding a solid 111-run stand for the third wicket with Ajinkya Rahane on a tough Wanderers pitch. Despite Pujara’s knock, India failed to restrict the South African batters, especially skipper Dean Elgar, who added crucial partnerships to lead the team to a series-levelling 1-1 win on Thursday as well.

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“When I look at him, he reminds me of Hashim. Watching Hashim bat, you know there’s a sense of calm that everything is under control,” Sunil Gavaskar said in a conversation with SuperSport. “The ball could be doing things but there was that sense because even on pitches where the ball was turning, the way Hashim was batting in India, it was almost as if, ‘look, nothing’s happening’, and that’s the same thing with Cheteshwar Pujara,” he added.

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“It is a great, great blessing to have players of this temperament in your dressing room. (It may not be) necessarily just on the field but it’s a huge plus and I think having somebody with Cheteshwar Pujara’s temperament in the changing room must be absolutely terrific because in international cricket, there are several moments of tension where people would want to do this or that or the other. When you have somebody who’s going to think about it calmly and give you a measured opinion it makes a big difference,” Sunil Gavaskar further said.