R Ashwin names this Indian batter as greatest Test opener outside Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar

Ravichandran Ashwin made a bold decision and named India's opener in the history of Test cricket after Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar is widely regarded as one of the greatest openers in the history of the sport, while Sehwag revolutionized the way cricket is played with his daring and dynamic style.

While it is no surprise that Sehwag and Gavaskar are the openers of any all-time India XI, the third best Indian opener in history is a matter of debate. While many may argue that Gautam Gambhir deserves the honor, Ashwin has chosen his former Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate Murli Vijay. Ashwin had nothing but praise for both Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, highlighting their immense contributions to the team.

"M Vijay, according to me the greatest opener for India outside of Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, and Puji are quite similar in that they haven't been celebrated enough. They also had some of the most hilarious arguments. They used to do the most difficult job in Test cricket - play out the new ball in testing conditions, as we tend to need to do whenever we go abroad - so it is par for the course to have a few eccentricities emerge from that kind of partnership," wrote Ashwin in his column for Espncricinfo.

Ashwin further hailed Cheteshwar Pujara, who is set to play his 100th Test match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi against Australia. Ashwin lauded Pujara's tenacity, noting that he is a formidable opponent who is impossible to outwit. He also expressed his admiration for Pujara's stubborn character, claiming that he takes pleasure in the challenge it presents.

"During all these years of knowing him (Pujara), I have learnt that his game is just an extension of his personality. And his personality is stubborn. You just can't win an argument with him. He never concedes a point. I enjoy seeing his stubborn side, so I try to lead him into arguments while others around say, "Ash, you know you are not going to win," Ashwin added.

Ashwin was full of praise for Pujara's stubbornness, a character trait which he believes enabled him to overcome one of the most formidable and aggressive bowling attacks, as he demonstrated against Pat Cummins in the 2018/19 series Down Under.

"Pat Cummins bowls good ball after good ball, changing the angles, trying a bouncer, trying a sucker ball, but all he gets from Puji is the leave or the dead defence. Actually I don't recall thinking Puji had a great defence when I first saw him, but his stubbornness is such that he has broken down the best of the attacks with his defence," he said.

"Most batters add to their game when they are successful or cut out some elements when they are failing, but Puji keeps trusting his method. You can't convince him to change. I used to use a Tamil nickname for him with Shankar Basu, our previous trainer: Mirugam, the beast. Just like a beast focuses single-mindedly on its prey, Puji focuses on batting," he added.

Murali Vijay recently announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing to a close a distinguished career that spanned 61 Test matches for India. His last outing for the country was in a Test match against Australia in December 2018. During his time with the Indian team, Vijay amassed 3982 runs, including 12 centuries. 

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