Former Indian captain Kapil Dev said that Cheteshwar Pujara has shown great temperament but you cannot compare him with Rahul Dravid so early in his career, says a report in The Times of India.
"He (Pujara) has just started. He has shown great temperament but you cannot compare him with Rahul so early. Let him make his own position in the team and name for himself. It is unfair to put him under pressure and say he is the replacement of so and so, Rahul gave 15 years to cricket and then became what he is,” Kapil said.
Sourav Ganguly also praised Pujara for his innings but said that he needs to prove himself on bowler-friendly pitches abroad.
“Of course, what Pujara does have is the hunger of Dravid and like the affable Bangalorean, he also hates getting out. "I got out for 87 in the practice match (for Mumbai 'A' before the series). That inspired me to score a hundred and then a double hundred," he said. Pujara has played two Tests in South Africa in Durban and Cape Town when India toured there in 2010-2011 and couldn't do much. He has the cushion of eight home Tests before India take the African sojourn again in the winter of 2013,” says the report.
Meanwhile, The Hindu reports that India has not lost a Test when Pujara has played for the team.
“Before his first Test against England at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium here, Pujara figured in India’s wins against Australia (by seven wickets), against South Africa (Kingsmead, Durban, December 2010), against New Zealand at Hyderabad (by an innings and 115 runs), at Bangalore (by five wickets) in the recently played two-Test series against the Kiwis. The Test match at Cape Town ended in a draw,” says the report.