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Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah, who also led the team in the Ranji Trophy and has shared the dressing room with Cheteshwar Pujara, lavished praise on the Test stalwart for his contribution to Saurashtra as well as Indian cricket.
Pujara, a 103-Test veteran, announced his retirement on Sunday.
“Cheteshwar has been a supportive cricketer and made Saurashtra very proud. After Rahul Dravid, he has been The Wall of Indian cricket. He has always been a very helpful player and great teammate,” Shah told mid-day over the phone from Rajkot on Sunday.
“Cheteshwar’s batting has always been a masterclass in classical Test cricket, and his ability to anchor the innings in the toughest of conditions made him one of the finest batters India has ever produced in the longest format,” added Jaydev.
When asked if there are any chances of seeing Pujara guide the Saurashtra team as a coach in future, Jaydev replied: “I don’t know what his [Pujara] plans are. He wants to keep doing commentary, because that probably offers more money than what one would get as Saurashtra coach [laughs]. In future, he can be of big help to the NCA [National Cricket Academy, BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru]. That will be more helpful to the players than him being Saurashtra coach. He’s always ready to give us pointers and we’ll take his suggestions, but frankly speaking, he’s currently concentrating on his commentary work which he has been doing before [announcing] his retirement.”
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