"People have been criticizing him in the past" - Cheteshwar Pujara on Virat Kohli evolving his game in IPL 2025
Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has lauded Virat Kohli for evolving his game further in IPL 2025. He noted that the Royal Challengers (RCB) opener answered the critics who had been questioning his strike rate previously.
RCB bagged the IPL 2025 trophy by beating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, June 3. Kohli scored a 35-ball 43 in RCB's total of 190/9, which their bowlers defended by restricting Shreyas Iyer and company to 184/7.
During a discussion on Star Sports, former India pacer Varun Aaron asked Pujara how difficult it would have been for Kohli to keep evolving his game at the backend of his career.
"It's not easy, but the good part about Virat is that he is one of the fittest cricketers, and he is open to adapting to a new challenge or something different. He is always open to learning new things," Pujara responded.
"People have been criticizing him in the past that he wasn't batting at a strike rate of 140-150. Now, if you look at his batting this season, he has answered that question. He has batted at a strike rate of 140-150 and above. So he has evolved as a batter," he added.
Pujara highlighted that Kohli's willingness to continue improving his game reflects his greatness.
"It doesn't come naturally. You need to work on it, and even to work on it at this age, when he is 36 and has played the game for such a long time, if you are still willing to learn and make a difference to the team, that shows how big a player he is," he observed.
With 657 runs at a strike rate of 144.71 in 15 innings, Virat Kohli was the highest run-scorer for RCB in IPL 2025. Only Sai Sudharsan (759) and Suryakumar Yadav (717) scored more runs than him this season.
"It shows how much it mattered to him" - Cheteshwar Pujara on Virat Kohli's emotional reaction after RCB's IPL 2025 win
![Virat Kohli got emotional when RCB were on the verge of winning the IPL 2025 final. [P/C: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/06/e472a-17491011155323-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Cheteshwar Pujara was asked about Virat Kohli's emotional reaction after RCB won the IPL 2025.
"It's a massive moment in his career. He has achieved a lot in his career, but the one thing he couldn't achieve in his career for so many years was an IPL title. It shows how much it mattered to him because he was working hard to win this title for many years. He was looking very emotional and the tears coming from his eyes show the importance of an IPL title for a cricketer," he replied.
The former RCB player pointed out that the franchise's maiden IPL title fulfilled probably Kohli's only remaining cricketing dream.
"Virat has many personal achievements in his career and has done a lot with the Indian team as well. Only one thing was left incomplete in his cricketing career, that was the IPL title. RCB won that yesterday (Tuesday), and his dream of winning an IPL title got fulfilled," Pujara observed.
Virat Kohli has won an ODI World Cup, a T20 World Cup, and two Champions Trophy titles with Team India. However, an IPL title had remained elusive thus far, with RCB having finished as the runners-up thrice previously.