In a shocking turn of events that left the cricketing world reeling, Virat Kohli—largely considered one of the greatest figures in the sport—on Monday announced his retirement from Test cricket. Though fans and pundits were taken aback, insiders indicate that the move had been in the making for some time.
With the advent of a new cycle for the World Test Championship, Kohli was also said to have been seeking a transition—not personally, but to assist the Indian team in navigating a difficult period. The former captain was said to be eager to assume the leadership role once more and lead the team out of its transitional phase. Yet, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) apparently envisioned something else.
As per a Cricbuzz report, Kohli decided to take a break from the longest format after being told that the team management leaned toward giving the captaincy to a younger player. The star batter, craving a fresh sense of purpose and personal renewal, found the prevailing environment to be short on the kind of energy and freedom he had previously enjoyed. The difference in current dressing room atmosphere compared to the under regimes gone past is said to have been a major contributor to his thinking.
Having suffered a slump in form in the last three years—managing only 32 on average with the bat—the 36-year-old felt a strong desire for a fresh challenge. Short of that, playing in the whites made it progressively hard for him to justify.
Before making his ultimate choice, Kohli took opinions from many prominent individuals in Indian cricket. He approached his close friend and erstwhile head coach Ravi Shastri for advice. He had discussions with former BCCI secretary Jay Shah as well, although the result of that discussion is unknown. A meeting with veteran BCCI functionary Rajeev Shukla was suggested but didn't happen, reportedly because of political posturing between India and Pakistan taking up time and bandwidth.
Besides that, Kohli has also reportedly met with chief selector Ajit Agarkar twice. These conversations, however, did nothing to change his mind about quitting Test cricket.
If the BCCI had decided to start the transition of the team post the recently concluded England series, Kohli and Rohit Sharma could have also remained for a last five-match farewell. But with the board looking to start the new cycle with a clear plan, they had to take some difficult calls—one of which accelerated the retirement of a contemporary legend from red-ball cricket.
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