A senior Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official has finally opened up on the Test retirement of the modern-day batting great Virat Kohli.
The official confirmed that Virat Kohli has officially communicated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his decision to retire from the longest format of the game.
On Saturday, May 10, several media outlets reported that the former India all-format skipper Virat Kohli has made the decision to announce his retirement from Test cricket.
This comes just ahead of the marquee India tour of England 2025, which will be played in June, July, and August across Leeds, Birmingham, London, and Manchester.
Virat Kohli was expected to be part of the India squad for the high-profile five-match Test series, but his retirement call puts a big question mark over his participation in what could have been his last Test tour of England.
ESPNcricinfo has reported that Kohli has been having chats around his retirement with the BCCI officials for the past month or so. In case Kohli ends his career ahead of the England tour, he will finish as one of the greatest Test players in the history of Indian cricket with 9230 runs under his belt at an average of 46.85 in 123 matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, doesn’t want Kohli to leave Test cricket just yet. Reportedly, the BCCI officials have asked Kohli to reconsider his decision before making a final announcement.
A BCCI official said that the 36-year-old Kohli is still very fit and hungry, and his presence in the dressing room charges up the atmosphere. He added that Kohli has been asked to take some more time before making a call on his Test career.
“He’s still incredibly fit and hungry. His presence in the dressing room lifts the entire team. We’ve requested him to take some time before making a final call,” said a senior BCCI official on condition of anonymity, as quoted by IANS.
Notably, the absence of Kohli on the England tour would come as a major blow as India will also be missing the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara on the tour.
With Rohit Sharma’s recent Test retirement announcement, India will be playing under a new leader, and the team management and selectors would hope that Kohli continues in red-ball cricket, as his experience is crucial on the tour.
Kohli is regarded as the best Test captain in the history of Indian cricket and, overall, one of the best of all time. He captained India in 68 Test matches, winning 40, losing 17, and drawing 11.
He had a win percentage of 58.82, which is the best among all Indian captains and his 40 wins place him at No. 4 spot on the overall list of captains with the most Test wins, behind Graeme Smith (53 from 109), Ricky Ponting (48 from 77) and Steve Waugh (41 from 57).
With the bat, Kohli led India from the front in his captaincy tenure, smashing 5864 runs at an excellent average of 54.80. After taking over the reins in Test cricket from MS Dhoni, Kohli transformed the Indian team with his aggressive approach, and his focus on fitness and fast bowling depth made India one of the dominant forces in world cricket both at home and in overseas conditions.
