Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that Shubman Gill and Joe Root are not interested in batting at No. 3 in Test cricket. He commented after India’s famous No.3 batter, Cheteshwar Pujara, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Hussain mentioned that with Pujara’s exit, another old-school batter has left the game, and he lauded the veteran for his presence in the middle order.

Pujara replaced Rahul Dravid successfully in the Test team and went on to amass over 7000 runs in 103 matches.

“He took from one of the one of the greats of all time, Rahul Dravid. An old-school No.3 has retired. This is something that is lacking nowadays in international cricket. Joe Root and Shubman don’t want to do it for England and India. Gill wants to bat at 4,” Hussain said on Sky Sports.

Hussain also compared Pujara to some of the big names in cricket. “Viv Richards, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid were the best No.3 batters of our era. It is not an easy position, but Pujara did a fabulous job,” he added.

Hussain also highlighted how Pujara helped the Indian middle order, especially Virat Kohli.

“He was loved by the Indian fans, and he protected the Indian middle order. The likes of Virat Kohli were helped by Pujara’s presence.”

Pujara loved scoring against Australia and played a key role in the sub-continent team’s back-to-back Test series win Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21.