Cheteshwar Pujara picks India’s all-time Test XI, leaves himself out for this legend

The veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara recently revealed his greatest Indian team in the Test format. Notably, the red-ball specialist picked his all-time Test XI of India and made some interesting choices. Not just that, in doing so, Pujara went a notch up and excluded himself from the number three slot and instead picked the legendary former India coach and batter, Rahul Dravid.

The Gujarat-based batter last played for Team India during the World Test Championship Final (WTC) against Australia in 2023. Pujara, while not picking himself, opined that Dravid was a much better batter than him. Starting with his choices, he picked the former India legend Sunil Gavaskar and the explosive former opener, Virender Sehwag, as the openers.

While picking the openers, he said that both the batters are contrastingly different from each other in their playing style and mindset. While Gavaskar was often considered someone of a calm demeanour, the 'Sultan of Multan' was known for his explosive gameplay. Besides, when he was asked why he did not select himself and preferred Dravid, he quite humbly replied that Dravid, aka "The Wall," was a much better batter than him.

"The openers are a weird combination, both are very strong batters, but Calm and composed Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, very aggressive. So, this can different way. Number 3. Rahul Dravid," said Pujara exclusively on Sports Tak's podcast - Vikrant Unfiltered.

"He has been a better player. Without any doubt," he added further.

Moving ahead, he picked the former legend Sachin Tendulkar at the number four spot, while for the next man in, he went ahead with Virat Kohli. While taking their names, he also gave his reasoning that he picked them based on their debut years, and definitely, Tendulkar was the senior pro. For the role of the wicketkeeping duties, he picked the former Indian captain, MS Dhoni. He also named Rishabh Pant, but preferred Dhoni over the youngster. The middle order featured another marathon batting man in VVS Laxman.

"MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant are close. Right now, it's MS Dhoni because Rishabh Pant is progressing as a cricketer, and I hope that at the end of his career, I have to say that it can be Rishabh Pant," added Pujara.

While in the bowling department, the 37-year-old picked the legendary all rounder and the former world champion, Kapil Dev. To partner him, Pujara found nobody better than the modern-day legend, Jasprit Bumrah. Besides, he picked two prime spinners in the form of Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin, respectively.

Pujara and Dravid’s legacy at No. 3 in Tests

Speaking of the Test careers of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid, both players have served India quite efficiently for a long time at the number three batting spot. While Dravid had a long, illustrious career of 164 Tests while accumulating a staggering 13,288 runs, Pujara has scored 7,195 runs so far in the red-ball format. When it comes to the number of centuries, Dravid has 36 centuries to his name, while Pujara has 19 Test tons for India.

Both the elite players have had the knack of staying at the crease for a long period. This was quite evident with their highest individual Test scores. Dravid scored a mammoth 270 runs against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Pujara's highest score in Tests so far has been an unbeaten 206* against England in Ahmedabad.

Check out Pujara's all-time Test XI here:

Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kapil Dev and Jasprit Bumrah.