India spin legend R Ashwin has credited the now-retired Cheteshwar Pujara’s impregnable presence at number three as a significant reason behind Virat Kohli’s supreme success in terms of runs at number four for India in Tests over the last decade.
Pujara, who retired after 20 years of professional cricket last Sunday, was the only batter to match up to Kohli among Indian batters in terms of Test run-making in the last decade. At his peak, the Saurashtra bulwark even surpassed Kohli in terms of averages in the sub-continent while enjoying success on two consecutive tours of Australia between 2018 and 2021.
‘The white walker’
Ashwin recalled Pujara’s epic contribution in the historic 2018-19 BGT tour, where India historically recorded their first series win in Australia, and labelled the right-hander as the ‘White Walker’ of the side, referring to the popular character from the Game of Thrones series.
“The cricket-loving public definitely knows the contribution of Cheteshwar Pujara. If you guys have seen Game of Thrones, there is a character of a white walker. I termed Pujara a white walker. He walks slowly but never leaves the field,” said Ashwin.
Colombo, 2015: An innings of character💪
Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall with an unbeaten 145 against Sri Lanka.#SonySportsNetwork pic.twitter.com/mJWqk4anTr
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 25, 2025
Recalling the 2018 Wanderers Test in South Africa to underscore Pujara’s unwavering solidity, Ashwin explained how the No. 3 only got off the mark on his 54th delivery, facing up against a menacing seam trio of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel. Pujara resisted for 179 balls and his half-century alongside Kohli’s on a dangerous batting strip pushed India to 187 before the Proteas responded with 194.
“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,” Ashwin remarked in a tribute for Pujara on his YouTube channel.
Though Pujara only returned 1 run in the second essay, India mustered a 241-run target for the hosts which would proved to be enough to record a win, thanks to Mohammed Shami’s second-innings five-wicket haul.
Massive legend
Ashwin lamented that Pujara’s defence was seldom valued on social media, missing the glitzy reels with macho background scores that other star Indian cricketers enjoy on a frenzy. “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.
Story continues below this ad
“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,” he added.
