'The 2018 series win in Australia stands out in his captaincy.'
Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket might not have been an easy decision for him, but he is the best judge of when to take a call on his career, says former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara.
Pujara, who has played 103 Tests so far, played 93 of those alongside Kohli. In fact, he appeared in 62 Tests under Kohli's captaincy.
The duo were part of several historic moments, most notably India's first-ever Test series triumph in Australia in 2018-2019, followed by another memorable series win Down Under in 2020-2021 as India consistently performed away from home and were ranked the No. 1 Test team for five years in a row from 2016 to 2021.
Reflecting on Kohli's journey, Pujara hailed his former captain's transformation, especially the way he bounced back after a difficult tour of England in 2014.
He also lauded Kohli's leadership, pointing out to how his increased focus on fitness for the team helped India achieve success in overseas Tests on a regular basis.
"His work ethic was one of the best in the game. And when you are committed, when you are leading from the front, when you are working hard on the game then the results are there and you can see the results,' Pujara tells Harish Kotian/Rediff in an exclusive interview.
You have known Virat a long time, your careers nearly started at the same time. Did his retirement catch you off guard? Did you get a chance to speak to him before or after the retirement?
No, I didn't get a chance to speak to him regarding the retirement.
Retirement is something which is always a personal call and he knows what is the right time to retire. There is nothing much I can say about that.
Someone like Virat has contributed so much to Indian cricket for a long time, he has been an inspiration to so many young cricketers. This is the time to congratulate him for his contribution towards Indian cricket.
He has still not retired from all formats, he will continue to play ODIs and also in the IPL, I wish him well for that.
At the same time, his contribution in Test cricket is remarkable and he has inspired many young players to play the Test format.
Even though he enjoys an amazing record in white ball cricket, Kohli was someone who openly advocated for Test cricket all through his career. How difficult must have been it for him to give up on his most cherished format?
It is challenging without any doubt but he has been playing multiple formats for such a long time.
Also, the kind of intensity, the energy which he brings, whether he is playing ODIs, or T20s, or Tests, in all formats his energy, his commitment has been of the highest level.
So it is never easy to give up but he has given his best and he knows the right time to call it a day. It is a personal call and we should fully support it.
Out of 103 Tests you have played so far, 93 of them were with Virat Kohli, having first played together in August 2012 till June 2023. You were also quite young then around 22 when he first came into the team.
What were your first impressions of Kohli back then and how did he take his career to the next level?
He has progressed immensely starting from 2012 when he made his debut. Then there was a tough series in 2014 in England, after that he has worked on his game, he rectified his technical errors and he came back strongly. He has been successful in England, in Australia, in South Africa, in different parts of the world.
He has emerged as one of the best players in the world in all three formats. He has evolved as a cricketer since making his debut in 2011.
You have also played most of your career under Kohli's captaincy (62 Tests). As a skipper, was he someone who went by instinct or was he someone who planned every aspect meticulously before every game?
You need to have the right balance. Someone like him, the biggest advantage was that he always wanted to win a Test match and for that you need to take 20 wickets. He has always been an aggressive captain.
Most of the times we went in with five bowlers and the aim of the entire team was to win away from home because at home we were doing quite well.
I would say that from 2018 onwards, the team started quite doing well even overseas. We can take the example of the Australia series (in 2018-2019), we did well in England (in 2021), in South Africa (2023-2024), so the team started performing well even in challenging conditions, that's where the major shift happened.
Which is your favourite Virat Kohli innings in Test cricket?
He has played so many memorable innings but for me the one which stood out was his century in Perth (in 2018) on a challenging pitch, that was the second Test of the series.
It was a tough pitch but the way he batted it was one of the best innings I have seen.
And how would you rate his captaincy? Which was India's best Test victory under him?
I would say the first ever Test series victory in Australia (in 2018-2019).
The first Test match at Adelaide was important in context of the series and that entire series went really well. For me, when it comes to Test cricket, the 2018 series win in Australia stands out in his captaincy.
When he became captain in 2015, fitness became an integral part of the team culture. All the players had to maintain a certain level of fitness to be considered for the Indian team.
What sort of change did it bring in the team environment?
It took our cricket to another level.
From the time Virat took over as the captain in the Test format and even in the other format, there was a major shift of fitness levels across the globe.
Virat did mention and all the players did realise that everyone had to work on their fitness, they had to be on top of their fitness and that's where the major shift came in.
It did help the players perform better because if you are fitter then you are a bit more energetic on the field. It also helps you enhance your performance.
So yes, fitness did make a big difference in the team and Virat led from the front, he was one of the fittest cricketers in the team at that time and even now his fitness levels are great.
As you said earlier, Kohli worked on his game and became a consistent batter in Test cricket, having excelled in tough conditions away from home.
You were also someone who did well when the going got tough in Tests and were a top performer away from home.
You along with Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane formed a superb middle order in Tests and we won a lot away from home during that era.
Was that was one of India's spells in Tests say from 2016 to 2021 when we ranked the No. 1 Test team for five consecutive years from 2016 to 2021?
That was the golden era for this generation of cricketers because the kind of cricket we played, the number of series we won in India and away from home.
The kind of the team we had, we had some of the best players in the team, in the batting and bowling department.
The quality of spinners which we had including Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, then Axar came in and then Jayant (Yadav) came in between.
The number of fast bowlers we had in Bumrah, Shami, Siraj also was there, and so was Bhuvneshwar and Hardik played a little bit of Test cricket then.
I would say we had a good bench strength in the Indian team.
What made Virat Kohli so mentally tough and aggressive? He always brought out his best game against the top teams and on the field he never took a step back whenever an opponent challenged him.
I think his commitment to the game. He was very committed. His work ethic was one of the best in the game. And when you are committed, when you are leading from the front, when you are working hard on the game then the results are there and you can see the results.
If you have worked enough before a big series, or if you have put in enough hard work to improve your game then you do see results and it wasn't just for a series because he kept working hard, he kept working on different aspects of his game, he kept working on his fitness, his fielding, his batting.
When you keep doing that over period of time then you achieve success.
Kohli was among the rare breed of players who despite featuring across all three formats finished his career with 100-plus Tests (123).
From January 2015 till 2025, 21 players have crossed the 100-Test mark. In the decade before from 2005 to 2015, 31 players went past the 100-Test mark.
Do you see that decline of players like Kohli, who go on to play more than 100 Tests, in the T20 era where players are literally forced to choose a particular format to lengthen their career?
It is challenging without a doubt because players are playing more white ball cricket. You may not have players who are playing all three formats, having such a long (Test) career. It is very challenging and going forward we will see few players (like Kohli).
If you look at the kind of talent which we are getting in white ball cricket, we have seen the IPL this year, we have seen the way the game is progressing, there are so many young talented players who are playing well in the white ball circuit.
So we are getting good players in the white ball cricket but at the same time we are going to find more players who are suited in the red-ball format.
Going forward, I think we will have to identify different players for the different formats and that's what will happen in the future.
We have only seen the extremely passionate and charged-up side of Virat Kohli on the field. Tell us about how he is off the field.
Off the field, he is very nice person to interact, he is very calm and composed.
On the field he is aggressive, but off the field he is like any normal person. Off the field he is very chilled out and I always enjoyed having a conversation with him.
He even made you dance after the series triumph in Australia in 2018-2019.
The entire team was celebrating and it was one of the best moments of everyone's career. We were all celebrating that series win.
Whom do you see taking up Kohli's No. 4 position in Test cricket? You have also batted at No. 4 in seven Tests, how crucial is that position especially in the coming Test series in England?
It will be big shoes to fill at this stage. I would say that we will need a couple of series to figure out who that player is, who that person is because it is not easy.
No one (in this team) has batted at No. 4 while Virat was there. We actually don't know who can be the right person, we are going through a transition at this stage.
We don't know who will be batting in the middle order, so we will have to wait and see.
I think we will figure out as we play few more Tests.
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