Australia vs India 2018-19: Cheteshwar Pujara a living Buddha - MSK Prasad

MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, shared high praise on Cheteshwar Pujara saying him a modern-day Buddha after the Indian National Cricket team batsman played a key role in their historic Test series win in Australia. Meanwhile, Pujara had a stellar show with the bat topping the chart with 521 runs including three centuries.

Many former greats cited Pujara as an ideal Test batsman and Prasad is the latest addition to it. MSK Prasad insisted that Pujara is turning into a role model for young cricketers in the country and that he is going to inspire a generation of traditional Test cricketers. He also lauded BCCI and skipper Virat Kohli for putting emphasis on the longer format of the game.

“Pujara is actually a living Buddha. That’s what I can say about his performances in Australia. The moment he gets to the crease, he goes into a trance, a meditation mode. The hours and hours of time he has spent in domestic cricket has fructified,” Prasad told India Today’s Boria Majumdar on Monday.

“You can rate him as one of best in Test cricket. He is also being seen as one among the last generation of traditional Test cricketers. I am sure so many cricketers would have taken inspiration from Pujara. And credit should go the BCCI and Virat Kohli for giving importance to Test cricket. Pujara is also a role model today,” he added.

Bumrah has been phenomenal

MSK Prasad also hailed Jasprit Bumrah, who had received his maiden Test call-up in South Africa last year. Bumrah has grown ever since and hit top form in Australia as he finished on top of the bowling charts alongside Nathan Lyon with 21 wickets from four matches.

“Absolutely, this kid [Bumrah] is phenomenal. Within a short span of one year, he has become very professional. When we picked him for South Africa, not many people accepted with us. They said many things ‘he is a white-ball specialist and he is prone to injuries’. But we went ahead with the selection. Having said that, we took that in the right spirit. We still took inducted him and he is now among the top of the ICC rankings,” he concluded.