Not Ab de Villiers Or Rohit Sharma! Cheteshwar Pujara Names Ex-Pakistan Captain As 'Better Player Of Spin Than Him'

Cheteshwara Pujara snubbed some of the greatest all-time Test players Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS Cheteshwar Pujara named a better player of spin than him

Pujara rated himself among some of the all-time greats

Pujara played 103 Tests for India

Cheteshwar Pujara , who is one of the finest Test batters India has ever produced, was key to the country's dominance in Test cricket for a decade. While it was his stunning display in the historic victories for Team India in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophies on Australian soil that will go down as the highlight of his career, he was among the finest players of spin in world cricket and proved tormentor for the best spin bowlers across the globe.

While there is a good case to make for Pujara to be among the greatest players of spin bowling all-time in Test cricket, the Indian cricketer seems to rate himself very highly. In an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo, Pujara was asked to point out better players than him, and he only agreed on a former Pakistan captain.

In a video published on Instagram, Pujara was asked to point out a batter better than him to play spin. He was presented with various names and did not react when the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, David Warner, Dean Elgar, Ross Taylor, Jonny Bairstow, Rohit Sharma , and Ab de Villiers among others. It was only on Joe Root that Pujara responded but did not fully endorse the England cricket legend being a better player of spin than him as he said 'Maybe.'

Pujara called Virat Kohli as a player on par with him in this aspect of the game. "I would say at par. In terms of stats, his numbers suggest that he’s a good player of spin," said the 103-Test Veteran.

On Steve Smith and Kane Williamson , Pujara admitted their impressive track record against India and called them as quality players but claimed you cannot compare the with him on playing spin bowling.

“They have scored runs against India and their numbers are good, but I don’t know, it’s very hard to compare myself when it comes to spin, but they are quality players," said Pujara to Espn Cricinfo.

It was on ex-Pakistan captain and batting great Younis Khan that Pujara admitted was better than him.

“Younis Khan — I would have to say that he’s better than me," said Pujara.

For those unversed, Younis Khan is the 15th highest run-getter in Test cricket history and the only Pakistan player to make more than 10,000 runs. He played 118 Tests and made 10099 runs at an average of 52.06 with 34 centuries.

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