Former India spinner R Ashwin paid rich tribute to Cheteshwar Pujara, who announced his retirement from all cricket on Sunday. Pujara played 103 Tests, scoring more than 7195 runs at an average of 43.60. The right-handed batter, 37, smashed 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries.

According to Ashwin, Pujara played a key role in Virat Kohli's Test scores. Virat Kohli had announced his Test retirement before India's squad England tour was unveiled. A few days earlier, India Test captain Rohit Sharma had also stepped away from the Test format. 

Kohli and Pujara had numerous noteworthy collaborations. According to Ashwin, the former India No. 3 should receive as much attention as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“What did Cheteshwar Pujara stand for in Indian cricket? I said his contributions are no less than those of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Obviously, a lot of people talk about their contributions. The attention is not there.

Not every cricketer gets the attention, but that does not mean their contribution is any less. Pujara's contribution at No. 3, believe it or not, was instrumental in helping Virat Kohli also make a lot of his runs,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat.’

Ashwin also highlighted Pujara’s exploits against Australia in the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar series down under. The No. 3 batter was dubbed the "white walker of Indian cricket," Ashwin disclosed. The White Walker is a very well-liked character from the HBO series "Game of Thrones," it should be noted.

“The cricket-loving public definitely knows the contribution of Cheteshwar Pujara. If you guys have seen Game of Thrones, there is a character of a white walker. I termed Pujara a white walker. He walks slowly but never leaves the field,” said Ashwin.

Ashwin, who himself retired from international cricket during the 2024-25 BGT, spoke about Cheteshwar Pujara’s knock in Johannesburg in 2018, on a pitch that the ICC later rated as ‘poor.’

In the first innings of this particular Test, Pujara scored 50 off 197 balls. The batter faced 53 balls before getting off the mark.

“There was a wicket in South Africa; the game had to be stopped at the Wanderers. The wicket was deemed dangerous. We had lost the series. Pujara played 53 balls before he got off the mark.

Just see that scorecard; Pujara's batting helped us out. It was a low-scoring game. He always did the thankless job; the ball was seaming a lot in that test. Pujara's contribution is unbelievable. People don't talk about him much, but he is a bona fide legend. There are not many players like him,” Ashwin concluded.