Star India batter Cheteshwar Pujara spoke about off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's fitness ahead of spinner's 100th Test as the Rohit Sharma-led side lock horns with England in the fifth and final match of the five-match series which will kickstart on Thursday at Dharamsala

Ashwin has so far snapped 17 wickets in the four matches he has participated in the ongoing five-match Test series against England at an average of 30.41. He is currently the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the series.

The Saurashtra-born cricketer asserted that bowling fitness is most important when you play Tests and according to him, Ashwin is the fittest cricketer in the world.

"When you are playing the longer format, bowling fitness is the most important thing, and Ash is probably one of the fittest I have known. If he ends up bowling 30, 35, 40 overs in a day, when he bowls again the next morning, his body might be a little fatigued, but he still has the stamina to carry on," Pujara wrote in his column on ESPNcricinfo.

The 36-year-old further spoke about his friendship with Ashwin and said that he is a "voracious reader".

"We became close friends by talking cricket. Most times we are on the same side, but you can never win an argument against him.