For our parents, we heard that Rahul Dravid stood as a wall to challenge nations, especially Australia, which withstood its greatest generational bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, and Jason Gillespie.
That strong defence raised a Cheteshwar Pujara for us millennials to watch, who carried the baton as a batting order shield at the No.3 position for both previous home and away Border-Gavaskar Trophies.
Now, the question is whether Shubman Gill can be that grinder who does something extraordinary and fills those shoes when he faces Australia in Perth on November 22.
Gill needs to show his true ability after averaging 36 in the format. This five-Test Australian series might be the best series of his career if he blocks out the Aussies, just like Pujara and Dravid did repeatedly.
Shubman Gill. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
The Indian batting order will depend on the young man to do his job, with Indian stalwarts Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma looking out of touch.
In the five home Tests against New Zealand and Bangladesh, Kohli and Sharma have averaged 26 and 17 respectively, with only one half-century each.
Shubman Gill’s situation is different. He recently scored a century against Bangladesh but has looked out of sorts against New Zealand spinners.
Maybe Gill needs to learn, trusting his defensive side of the game more than anyone else to tackle the Aussie quicks and long Nathan Lyon spells.
India only won the Border-Gavaskar series the last two times because Pujara neutralised Nathan Lyon’s spin and Pat Cummins’ pace by acting as a bridge between the openers and the middle order.
People don’t value what Pujara did for Indian cricket all those years when he played as many balls as possible to tire out bowlers and even got criticised for playing too slow. He did that so Kohli and Rahane could take over and dominate from the other end.
Cheteshwar Pujara defends in Ahmedabad. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
India’s 12-year unbeaten run at home in Tests is a testament to his contribution, during a time when he played spin better than anyone else.
The right-hander played 1,256 balls in the 2018-19 tour, and ended up being the highest run-scorer (521) with three crucial centuries and protecting the middle order from collapse.
Even in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under, he played the most deliveries in the series (928) and defended his way out with three match-saving half-centuries without Virat Kohli.
Pujara showed his patience and ability to stick it out when he saved India on the final day of the historic Gabba Test by playing out 211 balls and taking body blows from a fierce Aussie pace attack.
So, how do you measure Pujara’s contribution by the number of balls he played or the impact of those patient innings left in this era of T20 cricket?
The young Gill will have much responsibility on his shoulders after he showed his early signs with the magnificent 91 in the Gabba Test last time he toured Australia.
Gill had good starts but needs to start converting them, as he did against Australia in Ahmedabad when he scored a ton (128 off 235 balls) and complemented Virat Kohli throughout. However, if the wall crumbles, it could be catastrophic for the tourists.
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