India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on Cheteshwar Pujara’s defense. Ashwin feels Cheteshwar Pujara’s game is an extension of his stubborn personality. The off-spinner revealed that it is difficult to win an argument with Pujara and the same stubbornness is seen in his batting.
Pujara is all set to play his 100th Test match for India in Delhi against Australia. The right-hander has been a consistent performer for India over the years and he has delivered while batting at number three.
The 35-year-old has amassed 7021 runs in 99 Test matches at an average of 44.16. The right-hander was dismissed cheaply for seven runs in the opening Test match against Australia and he will be looking to score big in his 100th Test.
“Puji is one of the greatest at playing percentages against spin. During all these years of knowing him, I have learnt that his game is just an extension of his personality. And his personality is stubborn. You just can’t win an argument with him. He never concedes a point,” said Ashwin while talking to ESPN Cricinfo.
“Pat Cummins bowls good ball after good ball, changing the angles, trying a bouncer, trying a sucker ball, but all he gets from Puji is the leave or the dead defence. Actually I don’t recall thinking Puji had a great defence when I first saw him, but his stubbornness is such that he has broken down the best of the attacks with his defence,” Ashwin added.
The off-spinner lauded Pujara for keep backing his method to succeed at the top level for the national team.
“Most batters add to their game when they are successful or cut out some elements when they are failing, but Puji keeps trusting his method. You can’t convince him to change. I used to use a Tamil nickname for him with Shankar Basu, our previous trainer: Mirugam, the beast. Just like a beast focuses single-mindedly on its prey, Puji focuses on batting,” said Ashwin.
Ashwin also showered praise on Murali Vijay, who recently announced his retirement from International cricket.
“M Vijay, according to me the greatest opener for India outside of Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, and Puji are quite similar in that they haven’t been celebrated enough,” Ashwin added.
Meanwhile, Ashwin took eight wickets in the opening Test match against the Aussies. The second Test match will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi from Friday.
