Indian team's veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara recently announced his retirement from Test cricket. Pujara was known as the backbone of the Indian Test team for a long time. Especially under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, he handled the Indian Test team for many years. Pujara used to bat at number 3 in the Test team, while Virat used to play at number 4 after him. Now Virat has given a big statement on Pujara's Test retirement.
Virat congratulates Cheteshwar Pujara
Former India Test captain Virat Kohli congratulated Cheteshwar Pujara on retiring from all formats of cricket. While Kohli was the Test captain, Pujara played an important role for the team many times while playing at number 3. He handled and strengthened the team's innings. Pujara scored 7195 runs in 103 Test matches at an average of 43.60. He is the 8th highest run scorer in Tests for India.
He scored 21301 runs in first class cricket. Kohli posted an Instagram story for Pujara a few days after his retirement. Kohli thanked Pujara for playing an important role in his career. He said that having Pujara at number 3 made it easier for him to bat at number 4. Virat Kohli wrote on his Insta story, 'Thank you Pujji for making things easier for me at 4. You had a great career. Congratulations and best wishes for the future. God bless you.'
Series won with Kohli
Cheteshwar Pujara played a key role in India's first series win against Australia in 2018-19 under Virat Kohli's captaincy. He scored 521 runs in 7 innings and was also named Player of the Series. He was adept at tiring out the opposition bowlers and staying at the crease for long periods of time. This skill was most visible in the consecutive tours of Australia in 2018 and 2021. In these tours, he helped India win consecutive series. He made his Test debut against Australia in Bengaluru in 2010. After this, he played a key role in many memorable Test wins against Australia.
