Cheteshwar Pujara is very similar to Rahul Dravid: Ian Chappell

Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell likened Cheteshwar Pujara to the great Rahul Dravid, saying that the former was the perfect batsman for India at the number 3 position.

Chappell, in his piece written for ESPN Cricinfo states, ““There are two choices when selecting the type of No. 3 batsman for a top-ranked Test side. There’s the instinctive counter-attacker, who despite his aggressive nature still has the technical expertise to withstand a good spell with the new ball. The perfect example is Australia’s former batting champion Ricky Ponting.”

“If that type of player isn’t available then you need someone with the patience of a fly fisherman, a brick-wall defence, and the unselfish outlook that allows him to bury his ego in order to improve the chances of success for his fellow batsmen. The prototype for this type of No. 3 is India’s Rahul Dravid. Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t quite the snug-fitting Armani suit that Dravid was at No. 3, but he’s cut from the same cloth,” added Chappell.

It was Pujara’s ton that helped the Indian innings gain some sort of respectability in the first innings after they had lost crucial wickets in a heap. He then followed up his first innings effort with a 71 in the second innings to turn the tides in India’s favour in Adelaide.

“He showed at Adelaide Oval the value of patience and persistence and a strong mindset. While these qualities helped him blunt the Australian attack, they should also be a lesson to his more adventurous team-mates. Between his dogged defiance and their desire-to-be-dominant style of batting there is an acceptable middle ground,” Chappell, lauding the gritty knock, said.

He also said that India could possibly have gone on lose another away series had Pujara not been there.

If India were hoping Pujara’s patient accumulation would blunt the Australian pace bowlers so that the strokemakers around him could dominate, the ploy failed. However, without Pujara’s invaluable contribution India’s total could easily have led to a first-Test capitulation and the possibility of a team hat-trick. While a hat-trick is usually a great accomplishment in cricket, in this case it would have referred to away Test series losses in South Africa, England and Australia,” he opined.