Why wait for Cheteshwar Pujara to retire before we start respecting him?
On the first day of the first Test between India and Australia at Adelaide, Cheteshwar Pujara completed 5000 Test runs. That was his 108th innings in Test cricket, and it had taken Rahul Dravid the exact same number of innings to reach the milestone.
Yes, it was just a coincidence, and shouldn't be a basis of comparison between them. But there certainly is a similarity between the two players.
Dravid, for most of his career, was called "The Wall". He was The Wall that needed to be broken before the new ball bowlers would attempt to attack the main man, a.k.a. Sachin Tendulkar.
But there was more to the great man than being a mere defender. Dravid was one of the greatest Test match winners for India. He starred in many famous Test victories, both home and away.
Averaging 70+ in winning Tests and being involved in 87 century partnerships, Dravid clearly was the main pillar of the Indian Test team during his time.
Pujara has already been part of 29 century stands, and his contributions in Test victories have been immense too. Ever his debut, he has scored the most runs (3,400) in Indian wins, faced the most deliveries (6,879) and has the highest batting average (62.96) among batsmen who have batted in minimum 7 innings. He has remained not out 7 times, the highest for an Indian player batting in the top five in that time frame.
Pujara scored important 50s in the victories at Nottingham and Johannesburg this year. And in Adelaide, he improved on his record with a century in the first innings, and a 50 in the second.
Pujara is not a flashy and attractive stroke-maker. He is not a man with an intimidating attitude, nor does he have the most eye-catching batting elegance. Guys like Pujara don't stimulate our senses the way some other players might.
But a guy who has put the struggle of Test cricket ahead of the money and commercialism of the limited overs game, should get what he deserves. Just give Pujara his No. 3 spot, and he will run the marathon for you.
Some day, after he has retired, we might start remembering all these moments. We might think that India wouldn't have won the Adelaide Test of 2018 without Pujara, just like the 2003 Adelaide Test wouldn't have been possible without Dravid.
But why wait until then? Pujara is doing his thing right now, and we would do well to appreciate him in his own time.