'He played loud Punjabi songs' - Former India opener recalls interesting BGT dressing room story after Virat Kohli's Test retirement

As tributes continue to pour in following Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket, former India opener Shikhar Dhawan shared a heartwarming anecdote that highlighted the camaraderie and celebratory spirit the two shared during their time together in the Indian dressing room.

Recalling a memorable moment from a past Border-Gavaskar Trophy match, Dhawan said, “I scored 187 in that match. When I reached my century, Virat came out of the dressing room to cheer for me. He really enjoyed that century. When I went back to the dressing room, he played loud Punjabi songs, and we continued to celebrate.”

Describing Kohli as someone who always brought high energy to the team environment, Dhawan reflected on his fun-loving personality. “Kohli was always ready for fun cracking jokes, imitating teammates, and never missing a moment to lighten the mood. He’s very energetic, so there was always a lot of fun and laughter pulling each other’s legs was a regular thing.”

Dhawan also noted Kohli's knack for mimicry, saying, “He really enjoys mimicking others, doing impressions he’s very good at it. Whether it’s copying how someone walks or imitating someone’s voice like Ishant Sharma’s we’ve seen that side of him. Our sense of humour matched well, so we shared a lot of laughs together. These are all really good memories.”

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Shikhar Dhawan shares memories of Virat Kohli and reacts to his Test retirement

The 38-year-old opener also weighed in on Kohli’s decision to step away from red-ball cricket, expressing both respect and surprise.

“I absolutely believe he could have continued playing red-ball cricket because he is physically very fit. But he started quite early, and mentally, only he knows whether he wanted to keep playing or not,” Dhawan said. “Sometimes a player can be physically fit but not feel it mentally. Virat is the only person who can answer that, and I’m sure he must have taken this decision after a lot of thought. He always treated Test cricket above any other format. So, he must have given it a lot of consideration before making this big decision.”

Kohli's retirement marks the end of an era, and stories like these offer a personal glimpse into the player beyond the statistics one remembered for his fire on the field and laughter off it.