'Pujara has been outstanding' – Sachin Tendulkar

India claimed their first ever Test series victory in Australia by winning the four-Test series 2-1. Cheteshwar Pujara finished as the highest run-getter, scoring 571 runs at a brilliant average of 74.43. He also made three magnificent centuries and one half-century.

Speaking at a launch event in Mumbai, Tendulkar was all praise for Pujara and India's pace attack, and lauded the team's "fantastic effort".

"The team has done really well. The brand of cricket that India has been able to produce Down Under has been magnificent,” he said. "I find it difficult to pinpoint one moment, but I think Pujara has been really outstanding.

"There were a number of statements about him which weren't in his favour and kind of undermined his contribution. The bowlers have done extremely well too, but I think somewhere Pujara has been instrumental in laying that solid foundation on which a number of guys got runs. If I've to pinpoint that one guy, then Pujara stands out along with the fast bowlers."

Tendulkar also added that the brand of cricket India produced in Australia will inspire the next generation, saying: "Whatever your age is, you want heroes in life. I think results like these are really important.

"I still remember that when I was a 10-year-old, and didn't know much about cricket, I knew that we'd won the World Cup. And that's where my journey started. Hopefully, there are many journeys which would've started already," he said.

After the series win, Kohli had also heaped praise on Pujara. "I want to give a special mention to Pujara," said the India captain after the final Test in Sydney. "He’s been outstanding in this series, especially after the kind of series he had the last time he came here.

“He’s one guy who is always willing to accept things, and he takes everything in his stride and works on his game. He’s the nicest man around, so we all feel very happy for him."