Virat Kohli, one of India’s top cricketers, announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 12, leaving many fans and players surprised. At 36, he’s always talked about his love for the longest form of the game and had dreams of reaching 10,000 Test runs. He ended up with 9,270 runs in 123 matches, just 730 runs shy of that goal.
Ravi Shastri, the former coach of India and a close friend of Kohli, said that the decision was well thought out and that Kohli felt no regrets about it. Shastri believes there’s still a lot of cricket left in Kohli, especially in ODIs, where he’s had great success. He shared that he spoke with Kohli before the announcement, and it was clear that Kohli felt he had given everything to Test cricket, saying that the timing felt right for him to step away.
Shastri emphasized that while others might wish Kohli would continue, he sees the bigger picture and believes he can still make significant contributions in one-day formats and franchise cricket. Kohli has been India’s most successful Test captain, leading the team in 68 matches and winning 40 of them