Former India captain Mohammad Kaif has claimed that Virat Kohli might not have gotten the backing he anticipated from the BCCI and selectors, which in turn led to him ending his Test cricket career with immediate effect. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, wrote on Instagram on Monday that he would be retiring from Tests with immediate effect. His decision comes just five days after India captain Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket.
“I think he wanted to continue in the format. There must have been some internal talks with the BCCI, the selectors may have cited his form in the past 5-6 years and told him his spot in the team may no longer be there. We will never find out what happened, it is very difficult to guess what actually took place behind the scenes.”
“But given the last minute decision, having played the Ranji trophy, I definitely think he wanted to come back in the upcoming Tests. The developments in the last few weeks, he may have not gotten the support he thought he will get from BCCI and selectors which he may not have gotten,” said Kaif in an exclusive conversation with IANS.
In recent times, Kohli had struggled to make consistent runs in Tests. He scored 190 runs in nine innings of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which India lost 3-1. 100 of those runs came in an unbeaten second innings knock at Perth. Kaif felt Kohli being in a hurry to score runs in Australia was also an indication that his Test career was coming to a swift end.
“In the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he looked in a hurry to score runs. You have to stay out for hours and grind in Test cricket, which he has done in the past but the constant edging of the ball moving away from him while attempting to drive, made me feel his patience was a bit less.”
“Maybe he was thinking ‘I am in the last phase of my career what's the point of scoring a gritty century, there used to be a different level of patience on display from him before, he used to leave the balls, take his time, tire the bowlers and then took them down but I did not see that from him in Australia'.”
“That one method of dismissal at the slips perhaps shows that he was not ready to spend hours at the crease. The communication from BCCI and the self-realization in red-ball cricket may have led to the decision,” he elaborated.
While Kaif was certain about Rohit retiring from Tests after making himself unavailable for the Sydney Test earlier this year, he still expressed surprise over Kohli leaving the longer format. “On the other hand, Virat's decision left me confused. Yes in his Test career his numbers have come down in the past few years but a 36-year-old fit Virat Kohli could have comeback like he has proved before.”
“It felt he would play for a few years, guiding the youth players. This is a very private decision, he always used to say that it is his favourite format. If you look at any interview of his he always used to ring praises of the Test format.”
“He used to enjoy it because he used to love the gruelling challenge and he often encouraged the youngsters to follow his route to keep Test cricket from dying. He used to tell youngsters to earn the Test cap and it highly benefited Indian cricket,” concluded Kaif.
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