Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket on May 12, 2025.
Cheteshwar Pujara drew curtains on his illustrious career, announcing his retirement from all formats of international cricket on August 24. Pujara played 103 Tests and five ODIs for India across his 14-year international cricketing journey. The 37-year-old successfully filled Rahul Dravid’s shoes at No.3, emerging as the backbone of India’s Test team for almost a decade. Following his retirement, the cricketing fraternity extended their wishes to Pujara via social media posts, including Virat Kohli.
SLK
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GAW
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TKR
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ABF
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ADKRDM
167/6
MIEDM
94/10
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development beat MI Emirates Development by 73 runs
DVDM
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SWDM
71/2
MIEDM
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DCDM
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GGDM
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DVDM
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SDS
109/2
NDS
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Match abandoned due to rain
WDL
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ODW
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Match Abandoned
PD
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SDS
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EDR
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CDK
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UCCB
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LKLS
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UCCB
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UCCB
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CLJ
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UCCB
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CLJ
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KENT
225/10
YOR
301/9
Yorkshire beat Kent by 76 runs
SOM
240/2
NOR
238/10
Somerset beat Northamptonshire by 8 wickets (D/L) method
LAN
291/8
MID
292/9
Middlesex beat Lancashire by 1 wickets
DER
322/10
ESS
366/6
Essex beat Derbyshire by 44 runs
BB
258/10
SUSS
277/9
Sussex beat Birmingham Bears by 22 runs (D/L) method
GLO
313/7
HAM
315/5
Hampshire win by 5 wickets (DLS Method)
GLAM
278/3
LEI
274/10
Glamorgan beat Leicestershire by 7 wickets
WOR
269/4
SURR
266/6
Worcestershire Rapids win by 6 wickets (DLS Method)
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DEN
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CAN
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NAM
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GER-W
108/4
ITA-W
109/2
Italy Women won by 8 wickets
IRE-W
111/3
NED-W
110/10
Ireland Women beat Netherlands Women by 7 wickets
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IRE-W
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Match Called off
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NK
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LLG
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NWW
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KZK
85/6
KRMPS
66/6
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TTS
189/5
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188/7
Thrissur Titans won by 5 wickets
ALRS
128/9
CAGS
172/8
Calicut Globstars beat Alleppey Ripples by 44 runs
CAGS
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KBTS
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ATR
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TTS
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MGD
100/10
HBT
210/2
Hubli Tigers beat Mangalore Dragons by 110 runs
GBM
122/8
BNB
126/2
Bengaluru Blasters won by 8 wkts
MGD
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BNB
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IAI
92/10
YSG
95/3
Yallah Shabab Giants won by 7 wickets
MUT
92/7
ROS
84/1
VLLY
231/3
SGR
139/7
Valley beat Sandgate Redcliffe by 93 runs
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WYN
54/3
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NSBB
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NOS
139/7
MAO
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TRR
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BIP
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NOS-W
96/2
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94/10
Northern Superchargers Women beat Manchester Originals Women by 8 wickets
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143/3
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139/9
Lucknow Falcons beat Noida Super Kings by 7 wickets
KASS
198/3
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70/10
Kanpur Superstars beat Kashi Rudras by 128 runs
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MEMA
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GOLS
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NOSK
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Pujara and Kohli got into the Indian team around the same period and sealed their spots in a short time. Pujara made his Test debut in 2010, while Kohli made his way to the Test team in 2012. The duo became the mainstay, replacing Indian cricket legends like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar after their retirements. They have shared some good partnerships in Test cricket over the past decade. The pair amassed 2,993 runs for the third wicket, the second most after Dravid and Tendulkar, who had accumulated 5,826 runs. Pujara-Kohli’s runs came at an average of 42.75 with five hundreds and 16 fifties. Their best shared knock read 226.
Kohli, who retired from Test cricket in May 2025, took to his Instagram handle and paid a heartfelt tribute to Pujara. The former No.4 also thanked the Rajkot batter for making his job easier, often facing the new ball and fresh bowlers after an early wicket.
“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,” Kohli wrote on his Instagram story for Pujara.
Interestingly, Pujara was dropped from India’s Test set-up right after Kohli had stepped down from the helm in January 2022. However, the Saurashtra batter returned to the Indian team for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 Final, which was also his last Test appearance. Playing at The Oval against Australia, Pujara scored 14 and 27 runs across two innings.
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Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who also retired from international cricket in December last year, said that Pujara was instrumental in helping Kohli score his runs in Tests. Ashwin further emphasised that the former India No.3 deserves to be celebrated like Rohit Sharma and Kohli.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin said, “Not every cricketer gets the attention, but that does not mean their contribution is any less. Pujara’s contribution at No. 3, believe it or not, was instrumental in helping Virat Kohli also make a lot of his runs.”
Pujara is the only Indian batter to face more than 500 balls in a single Test innings (525 deliveries against Australia in 2017 in Ranchi). He was the leading run-getter (521 runs) in India’s first-ever series win in Australia in 2018-19. Then, he took 11 blows on the body when India pulled off a historic win at the Gabba in 2021. The veteran did a phenomenal job of tiring out pacers like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, playing 211 deliveries for 56 runs.
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