Cheteshwar Pujara’s Role in Virat Kohli’s Runs Highlighted by Ravichandran Ashwin After Retirement Announcement

Ravichandran Ashwin paid his respects on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat, to Cheteshwar Pujara, who has announced that he will be retiring from all formats of Indian Cricket.

Ashwin emphasised Pujara’s pivotal role at No. 3 in bolstering Virat Kohli’s prolific run-making in Tests, stating: “Pujara's contribution at No. 3 … was instrumental in helping Virat Kohli also make a lot of his runs.”

He cited one particularly telling example: in the final Test against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2018, Pujara endured a daunting pitch and took 53 deliveries to score his first run, effectively wearing down the bowlers and paving the way for Kohli’s innings on a ‘really, really, spiteful’ surface.

Ashwin also emphasized the massive worth of Pujara's rock-like defence in a perilous setting, which helped India achieve and maintain competitive scores in tough situations.

The White Walker of Indian Cricket

In an unforgettable reference to mass culture, Ashwin shared that he had christened Pujara "the White Walker of Indian cricket” - a nod to the persistent, unstoppable characters in Game of Thrones.

He said this sobriquet occurred to him during Pujara's impressive 2018–19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of Australia, when Australian bowlers could not remove him from the crease.

"In the final Test at Sydney, the bowlers literally had to say to Pujara, Please get out," said Ashwin, echoing the batter's unshakeable determination. With that, the moniker stuck - and is an apt tribute to Pujara's image as an immovable wall at the crease.

Conclusion

Ravichandran Ashwin's eulogy to Cheteshwar Pujara - on his YouTube channel and in public utterances - highlights the underrated but significant contribution Pujara made to shaping Indian Test batting at No. 3.

"Behind the scenes," Kohli called him, "instrumental in helping Virat Kohli make his runs." Pujara's unbending fortitude, exemplified by his dogged innings in Johannesburg, was a key platform for his colleagues.

In comparing him to a "White Walker," Ashwin describes Pujara's presence as calm, steady, and essential, even if he's not always in the spotlight.