Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opened up about Virat Kohli’s Test retirement, revealing that the star batter had made up his mind well in advance and harbours no regrets about stepping away from the longest format of the game.
In an interview on The ICC Review, Shastri said, “I did speak to him about it [his announcement], I think a week before that and his mind was very clear that he’d given us everything. There were no regrets. There were one or two questions I asked, and that’s a personal conversation which, you know, he mentioned very clearly, there were no doubts in his mind, which made me think, ‘Yes, the time is right’. The mind has told his body that it’s time to go.”
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According to Shastri, Kohli remains committed to contributing in ODIs and franchise cricket, which he believes still hold immense scope for the Indian batting icon. “He doesn’t have regrets. Ideally, everyone might want [him] to carry on. But then, he looks at the bigger picture. He feels he can contribute massive in the one-day game. There’s a lot of franchise cricket left for him in his life. The reason I think he will not have regrets is because he gave his everything.”
Kohli retired from Test cricket with 30 centuries in 123 matches over a remarkable 14-year career, also serving as India’s most successful Test captain. Shastri underlined the intensity with which Kohli played across formats, suggesting that such dedication inevitably leads to mental and physical fatigue. “Individually, as a bowler, as a batsman, a player does his job, [and] then you sit back,” Shastri said. “But [with Kohli] when the team goes out, it’s as if he has to take all the wickets, he has to take all the catches, he has to make all the decisions on the field.
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That much involvement, I would think there’s going to be a burnout somewhere if he doesn’t take a rest, if he doesn’t compartmentalise how much he wants to play across formats, there is bound to be a burnout. Well, it’s happened now and he’s pulled out of Test cricket. Unfortunate, because I still think he could have played two [more] years, but he’s the boss. If his mind tells him that is enough, it’s enough.”
Shastri also praised Kohli’s legacy and his infectious passion for the game, which resonated not just in the dressing room but across cricket-watching households worldwide. “He’s got accolades around the globe. He has a bigger following than any other cricketer in the last decade,” Shastri said. “Whether it’s Australia, whether it’s South Africa, he just got people to watch the game. There was a love-hate relationship.
They would get angry because he had the ability to get under the skin of the viewer also. In the way he celebrated, his intensity was such that it was like a rash. It spread very quickly, not just within the dressing room, but within living rooms as well for people watching cricket. So he was an infectious personality. That’s something I’ll remember.”
