Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement – The Untold Story

 Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement – The Untold Story

Virat Kohli retired from Tests three days ago. But speculation about his retirement has not stopped.

India will tour England in June to play a five-Test series. Many are not taking Kohli's retirement announcement before that as normal. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that Kohli wanted to continue playing Tests. But the selectors have probably told Kohli, judging by his form in the last few years in this version, that he will no longer have a place in the team.

In an interview with Indian news agency IANS, Kaif also said that the real story may never be known. The 44-year-old Kaif also commented that it is very difficult to guess what happened behind the scenes.

Kaif told IANS what he thinks. Although Kohli's form in Tests has not been good in recent times, Indian fans were hoping that the 36-year-old Kohli would continue playing in this version for a few more days after Rohit Sharma quits Tests. He will also play in the series against England next month.

Kohli also played for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy in January-February to return to Test runs. But suddenly, a few days ago, it was reported that Kohli had informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of his desire to quit Tests. He announced his retirement a couple of days later.

Kaif, who has played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India, believes that Kohli must have spoken to the BCCI about this. According to Kaif, "I think he wanted to play in this (Test) format. He must have spoken to the BCCI on a personal level; the selectors must have told him after seeing his form in the last 5-6 years that he would not have a place in the team. We will never know what actually happened. It is difficult to guess what happened behind the scenes."

Kaif explained, "The last-minute decision and playing Ranji - I definitely think he wanted to return in the upcoming Tests. "In light of what has happened in the last few weeks, he may not have received the support he thought he would get from the BCCI and the selectors."

Kohli suffered a run drought in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy held in Australia from November to January. He scored 190 runs in 9 innings at an average of 23.75 in five Tests. Of the eight times he was dismissed in the series, seven times he was caught by the keeper or a slip fielder while playing balls outside the off-stump. Since then, discussions have been going on about the future of his Test career.

Kaif explained Kohli's style of play in that series, "He was seen to be a little in a hurry to run. In Tests, you have to stay at the crease for hours, which he has done in the past. But the continuous catches while playing drives on balls that went out showed that he lost patience. Maybe he thought, I am at the end of my career, what is the use of making a solid century! He has shown a different kind of patience in the past. He left the ball. He took his time at the crease, tired the bowlers and then scored runs. But I didn't see that from him in Australia (on the last tour).'

Kaif then said, 'Getting out at slips shows that he was not ready to spend (long) time at the crease. Then, the message from the BCCI and his own experience in red-ball cricket combined may have led to this decision (to retire).'