Rahul Dravid Hails Pujara Ahead Of His 100th Test Match

New Delhi: India coach Rahul Dravid has lavished praise on Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of the India-Australia second Test in Delhi, which will be his 100th.

Pujara is all set to play in the 100th Test of his career at Delhi and the head coach was all praise for the seasoned campaigner.

“To play 100 Tests is a great achievement for any cricketer. Yes, you need talent but you need lot of other things. It’s about longevity. Your fitness, your resilience, ability to handle success and failure,” Dravid said.

“Everyone sees ups and downs in this long journey. You need to face and overcome these. You need to play different kinds of bowling, face various questions on and off the field. Pujara has taken at least 13-14 years to get here, its a tribute to his skill and so many other things like I have mentioned.

“He’s a very popular player, and everyone’s happy that he’s playing 100 Tests. We hope that he continues performing well for India. Over the last decade, Pujara has played important innings for the nation, and has won India games as well as series.”

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, who was added to the squad for the second Test will walk straight into the playing XI “if he’s fit”

Dravid added that the team management believed in valuing the contributions of past performers.