Cheteshwar Pujara Advocates for Ravichandran Ashwin to Become India’s Future Coach

Former India number 3 Cheteshwar Pujara nominates old teammate and Test format veteran as India's potential next coach.

Cheteshwar Pujara Advocates for Ravichandran Ashwin to Become India’s Future Coach

Ravi Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara (via ESPNcricinfo)

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With Cheteshwar Pujara effectively bidding goodbye to the national colors, he is enjoying a new venture with the broadcasters in every series that India plays. He was present for the England vs. India series and was seen analyzing how the team worked from a different point of view.

Many have appreciated Pujara for his takes as a broadcaster and like the two cents he gives from time to time. The retired Test batsman once again came up with some interesting answers in a 25 questions segment with ESPNcricinfo. As such, the host asked Pujara, “A teammate most likely to become India’s coach?“

Pujara without pondering much was ready with the answer and chose Ravichandran Ashwin. Having spent a lot of time in the Indian team with the ace spinner, Pujara is well aware of the tactical intelligence of the Ashwin.

Many have loved the hat of genius that Ashwin would put on in home Test matches. Pujara would mostly stand in the slips or at short leg. As such, he would get an outside or inside edge, and thereby gifted Ashwin a wicket.

Pujara made his debut in 2010 and Ashwin joined the Test side in 2011. The pair then were regulars in the side after replacing the likes of Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh in India’s Test squad. The pair then played their last match together in 2022 in January before Pujara was slowly laid off the side due to poor form.

The batsman did make a comeback for the WTC 2023 Final, but Ashwin had failed to make the XI in that match. With more than 11 years in the team together, Pujara is the right person to vouch for Ashwin’s tactical genius.

The spinner also has his YouTube channel where he analyses the game in-depth showcasing his skills of diving into untapped intricacies as a viewer. It may not be a bad idea if Ashwin does get a gig with the Indian team as many players would relate to him having played a couple of matches with him before he retired.

Cheteshwar Pujara comes up with a few more exciting one line answers

Apart from the question that asked him about India’s next coach, Cheteshwar Pujara had many interesting situations thrown at him. When asked about which teammate of his would spend an entire day in the gym, Pujara unsurprisingly uttered the name of Virat Kohli.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma
Cheteshwar Pujara with Rohit Sharma (via Hindustan Times)

Kohli has been India’s fitness icon for a while now and many are in awe of his dedication and commitment levels when it comes to staying physically fit as an athlete.

Next Pujara was asked if any of his teammates would feature in a reality show. Interestingly Pujara took Shikhar Dhawan’s name. Dhawan has entertained his fans with many funny videos on various social media platforms and probably that is what prompted Pujara to take his name.

When asked about who will end their career with all the records in the sport, Pujara once again in a flash said Virat Kohli’s name. Having batted a lot with Kohli in the longest format, Pujara has seen Kohli’s brilliance from up close. Kohli who already owns most records in batting still strives to achieve excellence with the bat in hand.

The retired batsman now isn’t in the reckoning for any Test squad, and it seems that coach Gautam Gambhir is looking to fill that spot with the likes of Sai Sudarshan and Karun Nair. It isn’t an easy spot to fill considering the patience and grit players like Rahul Dravid and Pujara showed for over 25 years.

It will be interesting to see that in a generation dominated by striking the ball regularly to the boundary, if India can find another serial blocker like Pujara who would give caution to the wind with his grit.

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