Cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me: Cheteshwar Pujara

Right from his debut, Cheteshwar Pujara is considering as the next Wall of Indian cricket. Pujara and Dravid do have a lot of similarities and you can begin from their patience, their approach.

While Pujara considers himself lucky to be compared with the legend, he is out of words when he had to describe Dravid.

“I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one,” Pujara told ESPNcricinfo.

Pujara then explained how Dravid helped him in understanding the importance of switching off from cricket.

“He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do,” Pujara said.

“I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket.”

He also spoke about how he understood that a ton alone is not enough to help the team and he had to go beyond that.

“There is a similarity in our games, but that’s not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn’t enough, you have to carry your team,” he said.

“That is how I learned responsibility – it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket.”