Former India spinner R Ashwin opined that Cheteshwar Pujara’s grit and ability at the No. 3 position helped Virat Kohli at times, as he had to tackle some testing conditions at its worst as well. Pujara recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending his career after 104 Test and five ODI appearances as well. And, Ashwin praised Pujara’s heroic innings on a dangerous Wanderers track during the third Test against South Africa in 2018 as well.

“Pujara’s contribution at No. 3, if you agree or don’t, was instrumental in helping Virat Kohli also make a lot of his runs, and I have one such case as an example. In the final Test against South Africa at the Wanderers, where the pitch was deemed too dangerous at one stage, Pujara played 53 balls before he got off the mark. A thankless job a really, really, spiteful Wanderers pitch, the ball was going all over the place,” R Ashwin said in a tribute video for Cheteshwar Pujara on his YouTube channel.

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R Ashwin also opined on how social media is rife with edits of star players’ stunning shots, while Pujara’s hard work is not appreciated on such platforms as well.

“Pujara is one such guy, when he bats it looks like a symphony. You may see reels on Instagram, edits like Virat’s cover drive, Rohit Sharma’s pull shot, MS Dhoni’s Helicopter Shot, but Pujara’s defense, even that has to be featured with music and all that,” Ashwin said.”He is a Test legend, absolute massive legend of Indian cricket, his contribution is no less than anyone else. I would put my head on the block, his contribution is not less than anyone else, whether it be Virat, or Rohit, or anybody,” R Ashwin concluded.