Virat Kohli credits Cheteshwar Pujara for his Test success in stunning confession
Published - 26 Aug 2025, 08:40 PM | Updated - 26 Aug 2025, 08:43 PM
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The modern-day batting great Virat Kohli has paid a heartfelt tribute to the 37-year-old Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently announced his retirement from Test cricket.
Kohli openly confessed that Cheteshwar Pujara made his journey in Test cricket much easier and congratulated him on an incredible career.
Cheteshwar Pujara played 103 Tests
The India Test batting great Cheteshwar Pujara announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Sunday, August 24.
After announcing his retirement, Pujara revealed that he thought about playing the upcoming Ranji Trophy season, but felt it was the right time to move on as he wanted to make way for younger players in the Saurashtra squad.
Pujara was regarded as the Wall of the Indian Test team, and he emerged as the perfect successor to the legendary Rahul Dravid. He played 94 matches at No.3 in his Test career and played some unbelievable match-defining knocks.
Overall, he scored 7195 runs in 103 Test matches at a good average of 43.60. The right-handed batsman hit 19 tons and 35 fifties in his career and performed across different conditions for India.
His last appearance for the Indian Test team came in the ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final, and after that, he was not recalled despite performing well in domestic and county cricket.
Thank you for making my job easier at 4 pujji - Virat Kohli
On Tuesday, August 26, Virat Kohli took to Instagram to pay a heartfelt tribute to Cheteshwar Pujara. He stated that Pujara made his job easier in Test cricket and hailed him for having an amazing career.
"Thank you for making my job easier at 4 pujji. You've had an amazing career. Congratulations and wish you the best for what's ahead. God bless @cheteshwar_pujara," Virat Kohli wrote in his Instagram story.
Virat Kohli's Instagram story for Cheteshwar Pujara. 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/xycqlXdl5M
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 26, 2025
Notably, Pujara and Kohli provided stability to the Indian Test team while batting at No.3 and No.3 for over a decade. Pujara played 62 Test matches under Kohli's captaincy and scored 4310 runs.
Aakash Chopra and Ravichandran Ashwin credit Pujara for Kohli's success
Before Virat Kohli's admission, former India cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Aakash Chopra had spoken about Pujara's key role in the success of Kohli.
"Pujara's contribution at No.3, believe it or not, was instrumental in helping Virat Kohli also make a lot of his runs,” Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"The best of Sachin Tendulkar came when Rahul Dravid was at his best. The same is true for Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. You will find that Virat Kohli's best in Test cricket were the years when Cheteshwar Pujara was at his very, very best. At times, the No. 3 needs to provide a shield for the No. 4 to perform. You make that marriage happen," Aakash Chopra stated on his official YouTube channel.
Players like him don't come now - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also showered rich praise on Pujara and claimed that he was the last of the Test cricket purists and players like him don't come now.
"Cheteshwar Pujara, dependable Pujara, a lot of grit and determination, the fighting spirit. You get him to do any job and he would do it laughing. They don't make people like him anymore. Players like him don't come now. A glorious chapter in Indian and international cricket has ended with Puji," Chopra said.
"It was a pleasure, honor, and privilege to play against and alongside you. The team always came first and he would do anything. He will go through a wall, and he will be the wall. The longest Test knock for India has come from Pujara's bat. He has batted on all five days of a Test match," he added.
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