People tend to overlook MS Dhoni's contribution as Test skipper for India: Cheteshwar Pujara

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New Delhi, Feb 26: India top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara believes the team is doing exceptionally good under their charismatic skipper Virat Kohli but the foundation for the team's success was laid by 'captain cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kohli's predecessor.

The Saurashtra batsman, who recently became a father of a baby girl, believes people often tend to overlook the former India captain's contribution as Test captain. Dhoni led a young Indian side on the challenging overseas tours of England, Australia where they lost, but the players gained a lot of experience and learnt from their mistakes.

In an interview with CrickNext Pujara was quoted as saying,"To start with, it feels really good to retain the top spot in Test cricket and get the mace. It is something we as a team thrive to do and to be honest, be it under Dhoni or now under Kohli, the motive has always been to win Tests and not just in India, but also overseas. It is true that this team has done really well in Test cricket in the last two seasons, but to be fair, people tend to overlook Dhoni's contribution as Test captain.

Kohli received the ICC Test Championship Mace for the second year on the trot but it was under MS Dhoni's leadership when they first achieved the No. 1 spot in the Test rankings and team's longest stint at the top was under the latter (November 2009 to August 2011). Pujara feels the team is only looking to take the winning momentum forward.

"India became the No.1 Test team under him (in November 2009). India's longest stint at the top in Test cricket was from November 2009 to August 2011 under Dhoni. And we are looking to take that forward as a team and for that, we need to do well overseas and the win in Wanderers stands us in good stead. To win on a wicket like that meant that the morale of the team reached another level," he added further.

"Also, talking about the two captains is a bit unfair because Dhoni led for a while and Kohli has just about started off and is settling down. Maybe we can do that in some time from now. But yes, it was a pleasure to play under Dhoni and it is no different to be led by Kohli."

Pujara has also claimed that the team might have lost the Test series against South Africa 2-1 but the scoreline doesn't suggest the real story for they had their moments and brought the hosts under the mat. But it was the batting that was a major disappointment in the first two games.

Pujara said, "Just a matter of a couple of partnerships. Trust me, things would have looked very different had there been just a couple of partnerships. The team played some really good cricket and the bowlers were fantastic. We had them on the mat in Cape Town and again in Centurion, it was the batsmen who failed to stitch partnerships."

The right-handed batsman from Rajkot also hopes that his stint in English County cricket with Yorkshire will stand him in good stead.

"I am looking forward to the county season as we will be playing Test matches in August. I was with Yorkshire in 2015 when we won the County Championship. It's a fantastic team with a good bunch of professionals, which helps me become a better cricketer," said Pujara.

"Playing Division 1 has its advantages. I will be playing against Middlesex (Lord's), Warwickshire (Birmingham) and Surrey (Oval) in away games, where India will play Test matches. So I will get a fair idea about the pitches and conditions," he added further.

"Playing at Headingley in early English summer, with temperatures around 4 or 6 degrees, will test any batsmen's technique and temperament. Even scoring a 50 is tough. By the time, the India tour starts, it will be a bit more pleasant," said the 30-year-old.

India will be tour England in July and will be playing a 5-Test series there, starting in the month of August.