All posts tagged: Kohli Test retirement

‘Virat will walk away’: Ravi Shastri predicts Virat Kohli won’t take coaching or commentary gigs after full retirement | Cricket News

‘Virat will walk away’: Ravi Shastri predicts Virat Kohli won’t take coaching or commentary gigs after full retirement | Cricket News

Last week, when Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket, it meant that the 36-year-old will only play in the ODI format having retired from the T20I format last year post India’s T20 World Cup win. While it is yet to be seen whether Kohli could play in the 2027 World Cup to be held in South Africa, former Indian coach Ravi Shastri believes once Kohli is done playing cricket, he will walk away from the game and not take any coaching roles or commentary roles. “He is still around to serve Indian cricket in ODIs, but I also know that Virat will walk away from the game once he is done playing cricket. He is not the kind who would like to coach or take on the role of a broadcaster. I will miss him when India plays its first Test in England. He was a champion, and that is what I would like to remember — never conceding an inch,” Shastri wrote in his column for Sportstar. Kohli retired having played 123 Tests amassing …

R Ashwin’s tribute to Virat Kohli: ‘India will miss the Test batsman, the captain and the soldier…’ | Cricket News

R Ashwin’s tribute to Virat Kohli: ‘India will miss the Test batsman, the captain and the soldier…’ | Cricket News

There is no doubt that Virat Kohli is the greatest Test captain India has ever had. A lot can be said about his batting but what stood out about him was his energy levels. His energy levels in his batting, captaincy, competitiveness… Sometimes I would be tempted to ask him ‘what did you eat today before coming to the game?!” But the retirement does raise a question in me: Did Virat Kohli have one or two years more of Test cricket in him? Story continues below this ad Was his energy levels a reason? Did he think..”hey I don’t have the mental capacity to handle it.”  To fight fight fight.. not many speak about it but the search for excellence is set by the personal benchmark set by ourselves. People will criticise us based on the benchmarks set by oneself.  But looking at it from team’s point of view, that reduced benchmark can also be a useful thing in the bigger picture. Sometimes as they say you can’t buy experience – that’s been there, done that.  …

Virat Kohli ‘one of the greatest Test batters ever’ but India have talent to fill his shoes, says James Anderson | Cricket News

Virat Kohli ‘one of the greatest Test batters ever’ but India have talent to fill his shoes, says James Anderson | Cricket News

England fast bowling great James Anderson has hailed Virat Kohli, with whom he shared a storied rivalry, as one of the greatest batters to ever play Test cricket. The 42-year-old however feels that India have the pool of talent that can fill up the gap left by even someone of Kohli’s stature. Kohli retired from Test cricket on Monday, bringing the curtains down on a glorious career in which he finished as India’s fourth highest run scorer of all time in the format. His decision came just days after longtime teammate and captain Rohit Sharma also retired from the format. “Great players. There will be a new captain because Sharma has retired. Kohli, one of the greatest Test batters that’s ever been. There’s big shoes to fill there but they’ve got a huge amount of talent in their squad,” said Anderson on TalkSport. “You just have to watch the IPL. They are bringing players into Test cricket from the IPL now who are just so attacking, aggressive, and fearless.” The rivalry between Anderson and Kohli …

Virat Kohli’s retirement ‘boost for England, but massive blow to Test cricket’, says Moeen Ali

Virat Kohli’s retirement ‘boost for England, but massive blow to Test cricket’, says Moeen Ali

Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket days after his longtime teammate and captain Rohit Sharma did the same. The veteran pair bow out of the longest format of the game with just over a month left for India’s five-Test tour of England and all-rounder Moeen Ali has stated that while this may help England competitively, Kohli’s retirement in particular is a “massive blow” for Test cricket in general. “Definitely, I think it’s a massive boost for England. Two top players who’ve been to England a few times on tour, so they have experience,” said Moeen on Sky Sports. Both Rohit and Kohli have had their times of peril and glory in whites in England. Kohli had a famously forgettable series in 2014 before plundering runs in 2018. Rohit put in what is rated as the best performance of his Test career in India’s 2021 tour of the country. “I remember Rohit playing really well the last time they were in England. The character they have, the leaders they (are), both of them have …

What foreign media said about Virat Kohli’s retirement

What foreign media said about Virat Kohli’s retirement

The news of Virat Kohli announcing retirement from Test cricket on Monday made headlines across the globe. The 36-year-old widely regarded as a torchbearer of Test cricket received widespread admiration for the same not just from England and Australian media but also from the New York Times. Apart from being the face of Indian cricket, Kohli emerged as a universal sports icon and with 272 million followers on Instagram remains one of the most followed athletes around the globe. Given his popularity, his unexpected retirement with the England tour just a month away, even caught the attention of New York Times. The New York Times paid a fitting tribute to Indian batting in an article headlined “Virat Kohli made one billion Indians dream again and helped save Test cricket.” Story continues below this ad “Eyes focused, collar turned up, an armband on the left and an armband tattoo on the right, the iconic wrist-twirl of the bat. Virat Kohli, the world’s most famous cricketer, at the crease in whites, brought balance, poise and ferocity — …

Kohli is a ‘legend’, should have retired after England series – Dilip Vengsarkar | Cricket News

Kohli is a ‘legend’, should have retired after England series – Dilip Vengsarkar | Cricket News

Dilip Vengsarkar As told to Devendra Pandey ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO I’m surprised with the decision of Virat Kohli to retire especially because the big England tour is coming up in June. I think he (Virat) should have played against England. It’s a five-match Test series in their backyard, a big series. He could have played the entire series and then called it a day. But he decided not to – and it’s his call. He had a great, outstanding innings. He evolved as a player after each series and each year, a true match-winner. Story continues below this ad Rohit Sharma and Virat will leave a big void. I’m sure there are players in the team who would like to grab the opportunity in the England tour now because I believe there is quality in the squad. The flip side of the retirements by these two players is that others will get the opportunity to establish themselves. The contribution of Virat and Rohit towards Indian cricket is huge and will remembered for a long …

Desire to spend more time with family a factor in Kohli’s retirement | Cricket News

Desire to spend more time with family a factor in Kohli’s retirement | Cricket News

In the first week of April, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and a powerful administrator running Indian cricket received Virat Kohli’s message that he wanted to retire from Tests while continuing to feature in ODIs. The desire to spend more time with his family was a key factor in his decision-making. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wasn’t ready for such a decision, especially with the five-Test England tour on the horizon. The board and Agarkar, therefore, asked Kohli not to take any decision in haste and give the matter some more thought. However, the star batsman seemed to have made up his mind and the bigwigs at the BCCI had understood that they couldn’t prevent India’s most prolific player from hanging up his bat. It was on May 7 that Kohli reached out to the BCCI big bosses again as he wanted to announce his retirement on social media. However, he was again advised to wait for a few days before making his statement public, as Operation Sindoor …

‘One in a Billion! Go well, King!’: Celebrities hail Virat Kohli as cricketer announces Test retirement | Bollywood News

‘One in a Billion! Go well, King!’: Celebrities hail Virat Kohli as cricketer announces Test retirement | Bollywood News

Vicky Kaushal, Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar, and Abhishek Banerjee were among those cinema stars who expressed gratitude to Virat Kohli for his incredible run in Test cricket after the star batter on Monday announced his retirement from the longest format. The 36-year-old Kohli quit red ball cricket after scoring 9,230 runs from 123 matches with 30 hundreds at an average of 46.85. Actor Anushka Sharma, who is married to Kohli, said the cricketer had “earned every bit of this goodbye”. Story continues below this ad “They’ll talk about the records and the milestones – but I’ll remember the tears you never showed, the battles no one saw, and the unwavering love you gave this format of the game. Also Read | Anushka Sharma recounts Virat Kohli’s ‘tears and battles’ that no one saw as he announces Test retirement: ‘How much this took from you’ “I know how much all this took from you. After every Test series, you came back a little wiser, a little humbler and watching you evolve through it all has been …

Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket: A timeline of his journey in the longest format of the game | Cricket News

Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket: A timeline of his journey in the longest format of the game | Cricket News

On Monday, Virat Kohli brought the curtains down on a glittering Test career when he announced his retirement from the longest format just ahead of India’s 5-match Test tour to England, set to begin next month. In a career spanning spanning 14 years and 123 Tests, the prolific batter will arguably go down as one of India’s finest in the format. With 9230 runs in 210 innings, Kohli stands fourth on the all-time charts among Indian batters, only behind the legendary trio of Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) with 9230 runs at a 46.85 average. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life,” Kohli wrote on his Instagram handle. He ended the posted with “#269, signing off”. Here’s a look at the modern great’s Test cricket journey. * Virat Kohli made his Test debut for India on June 20, …

‘There was something about his eyes that day’

‘There was something about his eyes that day’

One of the most repeated anecdotes about Virat Kohli’s commitment to cricket has been the time he batted for the Delhi Ranji Trophy team against Karnataka despite the demise of his father, Prem Kohli, during the game in 2006. Kohli was batting on 40 overnight when his father passed away due to cardiac arrest. But the 18-year-old Kohli returned the next morning and ended up scoring 90 runs to help prevent Delhi following on. “I was playing a four-day game at the time and was supposed to resume batting the next day when this (father passed) happened at 230 odd in the morning. We all woke up but had no idea what to do. I literally saw him breathe his last,” Kohli once told Graham Bensinger in an interview. “I called my coach in the morning and told him what had happened and that I wanted to play because leaving a cricket match was not acceptable to me no matter what. I came back from the game for the last rites and promised my brother …