Virat Kohli reportedly intends to retire from Test cricket and has reportedly communicated his decision to the BCCI. Rohit Sharma recently retired from Test cricket, and if Kohli is also not on the plane to London, it will be a very inexperienced squad for the England series.
The reports of Virat Kohli retiring from Test cricket before the England tour have met with a meltdown and requests, not just from the fans but from legends of the game, to take a U-turn on his call. Kohli has reportedly communicated to the BCCI of his intentions to move away from the traditional format of the game, following below-par scores in series against New Zealand and Australia. Kohli did have a century in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth Test, but the rest of the series was Kohli edging the outside-off deliveries to catchers behind the stumps, repeat, repeat and repeat.
“Test cricket needs Virat!! He is going to be persuaded. He is NOT going to retire from Test cricket. @virat.kohli is going to average above 60 for the remainder of his Test career,” a hopeful and positive Brian Lara wrote on Instagram. Who better than Lara to listen to for Kohli, if he does want to make a return to Test cricket, even though the BCCI is in continued talks with the Indian stalwart in relation to reconsidering his decision.
Not just Lara, even a few Indian cricketers, including Ambati Rayudu and S Badrinath, urged Kohli not to retire from Test cricket just yet.
“Virat Kohli please don’t retire.. The Indian team needs you more than ever. You have so much more in the tank. Test cricket will not be the same without you walking out to battle it out for Team India.. Please reconsider..,” wrote Rayudu on X (formerly Twitter).
Former India captain Rohit Sharma recently retired from Test cricket, and if Kohli is also not on the plane to London, it will be a very inexperienced squad embarking on the England tour, especially after the two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalists failing to make it for the third time.
