Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has named Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as three of the most underrated players he played alongside in the Indian team. The 37-year-old recently retired cricketer said that in the case of Saha and Bhuvneshwar, the presence of MS Dhoni and injuries respectively prevented them from having longer careers.
The 103-Test veteran Pujara also referred to Vijay as one of the best openers he has played in his career.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s views on three underrated teammates of his.
Speaking to Sports Today, Cheteshwar Pujara said: “If I have to pick a few, I would go with Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. All three were exceptional players. Unfortunately, Bhuvi was injured and he couldn’t carry on playing Test cricket for a long time but he was an exceptional bowler. Wriddhiman Saha has been an exceptional wicketkeeper and a batter. But he was born in an era when Mahi bhai was captain and then after that he didn’t get a lot of matches to play for the Indian team and Rishabh Pant also came in so he missed out.”
He further added: “Murali Vijay, again an exceptional opener, I think one of the best openers I have played my cricket with because if you are a number three player you want the best opener out there. I have had a lot of great partnerships with Vijay and he is also one of the best Test openers I have seen.”
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has managed to play only 21 Tests for India since debuting in 2013. His last test match came against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2018. Meanwhile, Wriddhiman Saha played in only 40 Tests between 2010 and 2021, largely due to the presence of MS Dhoni as captain in the playing XI in those days.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s views on the batter to bat for his life and the overseas batter he admired the most.
Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara in the same conversation picked Rahul Dravid as the batter to bat for his life. He also mentioned amongst the overseas batters, he admired former West Indies captain Brian Lara in the longest format of the game. Pujara said: “I would go with Rahul bhai, Rahul Dravid. I would go with Brian Lara because when I was young, I grew up watching Sachin paaji. Brian Lara scored so many runs. I admired his batting a lot, the way he used to dominate in Test cricket.”
Cheteshwar Pujara played with Rahul Dravid in 2010 and 2011, and later was coached by him from 2021 to 2023. Pujara took inspiration from the legends, learned the craft of batting and became a stalwart and legend himself and will be an inspiration for the next generation of players especially those who want to make it big in Test cricket.
It is true that the three names Pujara mentioned were indeed under-rated gems of Indian cricket and never got the due recognition that they possibly deserved. Murali Vijay was a fine opener in his times and used to be rock solid in the transition phase that India were going through under MS Dhoni. He used to hold one end up and blunt the bowling but got overshadowed by the flamboyance of Shikhar Dhawan.
Wriddhiman Saha was born in the wrong era as MS Dhoni played and captained the team and by the time Dhoni retired, Rishabh Pant came into the mix, so Saha for more ways than one was unlucky while frequent injuries plagued Bhuvneshwar Kumar and he had to settle for playing more white-ball cricket than red ball. Had three players being a bit lucky then they would have been gems for Indian cricket in the longer format and people would have spoken more about them in Tests.
But it was good to see Pujara talking about them and giving them the credit that they so richly deserve for their unheralded contribution to Indian cricket.
Also Read: IND VS WI: Cheteshwar Pujara Picks Out 4 Toughest Bowlers He Faced.