I think Virat Kohli wanted to continue in the format: Mohammad Kaif

After Rohit Sharma announced his Test retirement, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli also followed the queue with his retirement from the longest format of the game ahead of the England tour in the new World Test Championship cycle.

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Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif feels Kohli wanted to continue in the format. However, some internal talks with the BCCI officials and the selection committee might have changed his decision.

“I think he wanted to continue in the format. There must have been some internal talks with the BCCI; the selectors may have cited his form in the past 5-6 years and told him his spot in the team may no longer be there. We will never find out what happened, it is very difficult to guess what actually took place behind the scenes,” Kaif told IANS.

Interestingly, after the failure in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 season, Kohli went on to play the Ranji Trophy, which indicated his Test return. However, Kaif felt he may not have received support from the BCCI officials 

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“But given the last-minute decision, having played the Ranji trophy, I definitely think he wanted to come back in the upcoming Tests. The developments in the last few weeks, he may not have gotten the support he thought he would get from BCCI and selectors, which he may not have gotten,” he added.

Furthermore, Kaif stated that Kohli looked a bit in a hurry to score runs instead of tiring down bowlers and then going for runs. The frequent dismissals outside off stump might also be one of the reasons behind his retirement, according to Kaif.

“In the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he looked 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 the constant edging of the ball moving away from him while attempting to drive made me feel his patience was a bit less,” he stated. 

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“Maybe he was thinking ‘I am in the last phase of my career what’s the point of scoring a gritty century, there used to be a different level of patience on display from him before, he used to leave the balls, take his time, tire the bowlers and then took them down but I did not see that from him in Australia’,” Kaif observed. 

“That one method of dismissal at the slips perhaps shows that he was not ready to spend hours at the crease. The communication from BCCI and the self-realization in red-ball cricket may have led to the decision,” he concluded.

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