New Delhi [India], May 12 : Cheteshwar Pujara, who served as the backbone of the Indian batting order, believes that for Virat Kohli, the "ultimate format" of the game, was Test cricket and he put in a lot of hard work.
On Monday morning, the cricketing world was taken by surprise as Virat took to Instagram and penned an emotional note to announce his retirement from Test cricket, marking the end of his 14-year-long journey, a story of hardship, grit and resilience.
"He paid a lot of attention to the Test format in the era where all the youngsters were looking to play more of white-ball cricket. For Virat, the ultimate format of the game was Test cricket, and for that, he worked really hard," Pujara told ESPNcricinfo.
Pujara emphasised the importance of fitness culture, which the 36-year-old infused into the Indian team when he took over the captaincy in red-ball format in 2015.
"When he started leading the team from 2015 onwards, that's the time when he brought in the fitness culture in the Indian team. All the teams were trying to work hard on their fitness, but in the Indian team, the fitness had to improve, and that was the time when the shift did come in," he said.
"The number of fast bowlers who came into the Indian team at that time also had to work on their fitness. The entire team started working on the fitness, and at the same time, Virat paid a lot of attention to the Test format, and he wanted the team to be one of the best in the world," he added.
Pujara pinpointed Virat's most defining quality as a captain was his unrelenting focus on claiming 20 wickets to win a Test match.
"From the time he was in charge, he always wanted to take 20 wickets. So the intensity on the field was very important. And for each and every player to put in those suggestions to take those 20 wickets, it was important that everyone came together, and then we started working towards the goal," Pujara said.