CHENNAI: When Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, though expected, there was a tinge of surprise. Despite murmurs in the last couple of days, his former Test teammate Cheteshwar Pujara seemed bewildered by such a sudden decision.
"No one expected him (Kohli) to announce his retirement," he said. "Kohli is someone who has contributed immensely to Indian cricket, not just in Test format but across all formats. He is someone who has inspired many young cricketers to play a lot and give importance to Test cricket. So he has been an inspiration to many players and he is someone who will definitely be missed in the team. He is one of the best players in this era without any doubt,'' complimented Pujara while talking to this daily.
Pujara felt Kohli's achievements have been phenomenal and it will be difficult for future generation players to emulate him. "His achievements are immense. It is something which one can just dream about. So his contribution across the formats is phenomenal. He has won the ODI World Cup, has been part of the Champions Trophy winning team and when we speak about the Test format, that is something where he has scored more than 9000 runs and performed in different conditions. He has scored in Australia, South Africa, England adapting to diverse conditions and wickets,'' Pujara said.
Pujara has been fortunate to watch many of Kohli's great innings from close quarters. ''He has played many great knocks. Each of his centuries was a delight to watch. But for me, his 100 against Australia in 2018 in the second Test match at Perth stands out and is one of my favourite innings.'' he said.
"Kohli has been a great leader. He is someone who has led from the front. He is someone under whose leadership the team started winning Test matches overseas. So the credit should definitely go to him as a leader and also the kind of fitness levels he brought into the team. He was instrumental in making that (fitness levels) change," said Pujara.
"Off the field, he is calm and composed. On the field, yes, he is aggressive, but off the field when you chat with him, he is very calm and very composed. You would always enjoy having conversations with him. He is also someone who is very light-hearted, likes cracking jokes, laughing whenever it is possible. So, he was a delight to play with," revealed Pujara.