Former India captain Mohammad Kaif has claimed that Virat Kohli would not have obtained an estimated support from the BCCI and the selectors, due to which he ended his Test cricket career with immediate effect. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches, on an average of 46.85, wrote on Instagram on Monday that he would retire from tests with immediate effect. His decision came 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 conversation with the BCCI, the selectors may have cited their form in the last 5-6 years and told him that it may not be located in the team now. We will never find out what happened, it is very difficult to guess what happened behind the curtain.”
“But given the final -minute decision, after playing the Ranji Trophy, I definitely feel that he wanted to return to the upcoming tests. In the last few weeks, the events, he would not have found the support he thought he thought he would meet from the BCCI and the selectors, whom he could not receive,” Kaif said in a special conversation with IANAS.
In recent times, Kohli had struggled to score continuously in tests. He scored 190 runs in nine innings of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which India lost 3–1. 100 runs of them came in an unbeaten second innings in Parth. Kaif felt that Kohli was in a hurry to score runs in Australia, it was also a sign that his test career was coming to a sharp end.
“Seema Gavaskar Trophy in 2024-25, he saw 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 was moving away from them while trying to drive the ball continuously, I think he was a little less.”
“Perhaps he was thinking that ‘I am in the final stages of my career, what is the matter of scoring a gritty century, before he left the balls, he used to leave the balls, take his time, tire the bowlers and then take them down but I did not see him in Australia.”
He said, “A method of dismissal on slips probably shows that he was not ready to spend hours at the crease. Self-interview in communication and red-ball cricket from BCCI may have decided,” he expanded.
While Kaif was sure about Rohit that earlier this year, he was retiring from the Test after making himself unavailable for the Sydney Test, he expressed surprise leaving the long format on Kohli. “On the other hand, Virat’s decision left me confused. Yes, his numbers have decreased over the years in his test career, but a 36 -year -old fit Virat Kohli may return as if he has been proved before.”
“It felt that he would play for a few years, guiding young players. It is a very personal decision, he always used to say that this is his favorite format. If you see any of his interviews, he always praised the test format.”
“He used to enjoy this because he loved the fierce challenge and he often encouraged the youth to follow his path to prevent Test cricket. He used to ask the youth to earn a Test cap and benefited Indian cricket a lot,” Kaf said.
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