This has been a tough week for cricket fans. If the general, prevailing anxiety around the looming prospect of escalation in the Indo-Pak standoff wasn’t enough, sources of distraction – arts and sports, for instance – are running on short supply, including the recently-announced hiatus of the IPL. It seems, however, that fans of RCB have it a tad bit worse. They have been recently hit with another devastating news: Virat Kohli – the workhorse and loyal talisman of the team – has just announced his retirement from test cricket. Cricket insiders and fans react:
I felt that there was sufficient cricket left with Virat Kohli, and this is a decision taken by an individual on his own accord. There is so much cricket in the three formats, resulting in a tremendous amount of wear and tear in one’s system. I suppose he’s feeling very tired and he has got a lot of other responsibilities on hand to take care of. One cannot be playing all the time and it may also be a case of ‘when will he retire, when will he give a chance to the youngsters’. This has happened many times with cricketers who had enough cricket left in them. Undoubtedly, he has been a great inspiration to the youngsters of today, and you can rest assured knowing there is an abundance of talent in our country. I wish him well for the formats which he is aiming to play, like the ODIs and the IPL. Maybe his focus is on winning RCB an IPL title this year. Obviously RCB have been in great form and it all depends on him.
Dejected that the king is calling it a day! I would have loved to see him play in England and walk out in glory. I’m sure he will miss the game as much as we will miss his presence. India will continue to play some very good cricket but the Virat factor, which was so special, will be missing. He should have emulated Sachin and so many other greats, who have given fair chances to their fans to enjoy watching them one last time. We need to see him play one more test series please.
My initial reaction was more of disappointment than sadness – mainly because, ever since Kohli burst onto the scene, he has gone through multiple rough patches and always fought his way back. Whether it was the 2011-12 Australia tour, the 2014-15 Australia tour, or the 2018 England tour, every time his place was questioned, he responded with resilience. Maybe the selfish fan in me was hoping for the same this time as well. Even if I take off the hat of being an ardent Kohli supporter for a moment and think objectively, the decision still doesn’t quite make sense to me. Yes, he has struggled a bit in recent years in the whites, but even during this lull, he managed to produce some gritty knocks from time to time. Given his exceptional fitness and mental toughness, I sincerely believe he had one more peak left in test cricket.
I was making myself ready for this because I knew it was coming soon. This morning, when I saw Virat’s Instagram post, I was rather happy as I believe that he has had a successful and memorable test career, so it’s better to move away while he’s already in the limelight rather than being pushed away by the management eventually. Rohit Sharma’s decision might have influenced him, maybe? This decision might help him to focus solely on the upcoming 2027 ODI Cricket World Cup.
This news makes me a little emotional. Virat ruled test ricket and it was an absolute pleasure watching the Indian (men’s) test team under his captaincy, especially playing against Australia, where Virat would give it back to the infamous sledgers. Will miss him on the test ground.
(With inputs by Aakansha Munshi)