Virat Kohli Not Urged to Rethink Retirement, Told He’s Out of Test Plans: Report

Post by : Elena Malik

Photo : AFP

The talk around Virat Kohli's future in Test cricket has taken a sudden turn. It seems the choice is no longer in his hands. Sources now say that those in charge had already made the call, leaving Kohli with very little room to decide for himself.

Not long ago, it was believed that Kohli had told officials that he wanted to retire from Test cricket. That news hit fans hard, especially with a five-match Test series in England coming up on June 20. Many thought the team bosses would ask him to stay, fearing the squad would look too young without him. With Rohit Sharma and R. Ashwin already stepping away, only Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah remain as senior players. This series is also the start of the new World Test Championship, so not having Kohli could be a big blow for India and a clear boost for England.

But now, a new report from Dainik Jagran says something very different.

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It claims that no one asked Kohli to stay. In fact, he was clearly told that he doesn’t belong in the Test setup anymore. Those making the decisions pointed to his recent poor form. During the Australia series, he scored just 190 runs in five games, with one good knock of 100 runs. The rest of his innings were average. Before that, against New Zealand, he scored only 93 runs in six innings — a low number for a player of his level.

A senior official said, “We don’t ask any player to continue. It’s their personal call. We don’t interfere.” This message was also given to Rohit Sharma during a meeting in Mumbai on May 7. The same was said to Kohli. When asked if Kohli would travel to England for the series, the reply was, “Hopefully not.”

India recently lost a home Test series 0-3, the first time in 12 years such a thing happened. They also failed to qualify for the World Test Championship final. After this poor run, the team leadership decided to focus on the future. With Rohit now 38 and Kohli 36, both are unlikely to last till the next big tournaments in 2027.

Both players are keen to play one more major ICC event in South Africa. But handling two international formats along with the long IPL season is a risk the leadership doesn’t want to take anymore.

At the moment, many things need to be sorted out — a new Test captain has to be picked, the England tour team must be announced, and changes in next year’s IPL schedule need to be made. Shubman Gill is being seen as the likely new leader.

Most likely, all the big announcements will come around May 23. Until then, fans are waiting to see what Virat Kohli finally decides.

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