During a chat show with former South African cricketer and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter AB de Villiers, Indian cricket star Virat Kohli revealed that he considers Cheteshwar Pujara to be the worst runner between the wickets he has seen in his career so far.
The conversation between the two cricketers covered a wide range of topics, including how Kohli met his wife Anushka Sharma and their most memorable cricketing experiences. At the start of the chat, Virat Kohli discussed his recent Test century against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and his rapport with the Australian team during the series.
Later, during the Quick Singles segment, Kohli was asked to choose the best and worst runners between the wickets. While he named AB de Villiers as the best and MS Dhoni as the second-best, he also stated that Cheteshwar Pujara is the worst runner he has seen. Kohli even recalled an incident from India’s 2018 tour of South Africa to support his statement.
Virat Kohli recalled a specific incident during the Centurion Test and explained, “I remember just sitting and hearing cheers and celebrations. When I looked at the replays, Pujara had played his first ball and was run out. In the second innings, Parthiv Patel hit a shot wide of gully, and AB was chasing the ball. Pujara called for a risky third run, running towards the danger end. But when Quinton de Kock took off the bails, there was no one in the frame. So, I thought to myself, ‘You got run out in the first innings and now you’re calling for a third with the best fielder of the opposition behind the ball.'”
Kohli stated that AB de Villiers was his top pick for the best partner while running between the wickets, but after him, he had complete trust in MS Dhoni, saying that he wouldn’t even need to call when running with him. During the chat show, Kohli also answered some quick questions, including his choice of bowler to bowl for his life, which he answered as Dale Steyn.
When asked about his most memorable career moment, he mentioned the 2016 IPL Final but then stated that it was surpassed by the events of October 23, 2022, during which he experienced the best atmosphere he had ever been a part of, which was the 2011 World Cup.