Former England captain Nasser Hussain praised Cheteshwar Pujara following the Indian batter’s retirement announcement on August 24. Hussain highlighted how modern players like Shubman Gill and Joe Root often hesitate to bat at No. 3 in Tests, a position Pujara mastered over nearly five years.
The 37-year-old concluded his illustrious Test career with 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, including 19 centuries across 103 matches. His finest performances came during India’s back-to-back tours of Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21, where he played a key role in both 2-1 series victories.
Speaking about the resilient right-hander on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel, Hussain remarked,
“A real old-school No. 3. And he had to take over from one of the all-time great No. 3s in Rahul Dravid. It’s something that’s a little bit lacking in international cricket – No. 3s. Even in the England side, Joe Root doesn’t want to do it. Shubman Gill doesn’t want to do it for India since he has got the captaincy. He wants to bat at 4.”
He further continued: “In our era, your No. 3 was your best player, whether it be Viv Richards, Ricky Ponting or Rahul Dravid. Not an easy position to do but Pujara did it as well as anyone.”
“He Shielded the Middle Order from the New Ball” – Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain lauded Cheteshwar Pujara for his skill in occupying the crease and shielding India’s middle order from the new ball in Test cricket. The right-hander was named Player of the Series during India’s historic first Test series win in Australia in 2018/19, amassing 521 runs at an average of 74.42, including three centuries.
“Another one of the old school batters is gone. A bat for your life and over my dead body sort of batter that played the ball late and produced some great innings, especially in Australia. He was loved by Indian fans for playing like that.”
“And he protected the middle order, with the likes of Kohli in there, from the new ball. Working with him, he’s exactly like how he was when he batted. Very calm, quietly spoken and talks a lot of sense,” said Hussain.
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