The Inside Story of Kohl's Retirement

The inside story is that Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket not voluntarily seeing the writing on the wall. The cricket administration rather left no option for him other than retirement. Like spinner Ashwin, he was denied even the ceremonial farewell Test match. The 36 –year-old was unceremoniously eased out of the Test cricket.

His history of his run- ins with former Delhi colleague and chief selector Gautam Gambhir is a contributing factor in it. In fact, for someone who has scored 9200 plus runs and 30 centuries, he had a good couple of years of Test cricket left in him before his stunning decision to retire. 

First Draft spoke to a lot of former players and BCCI officials in piecing together as to what happened in the last couple of weeks building up to Virat’s ‘virtual ouster.’ A former Test cricket, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that for him there were two factors which clearly proved that King Kohli’s decision to retire was a hasty one.  

The first and foremost is that he was just 700 runs short of the magical 10,000 figure. “For a leading player like Virat, having come so close to the five-figure mark, there is no way in which he would retire before getting it,” he said.

“For someone like him, who averages 50 in Tests, it would have taken a mere four or five good knocks to breach the 10,000 mark. For me the decision to retire was not his--- he was left with no other option,” the cricketer added. 

The second reason is the timing of his retirement. “Virat was keen and intent on playing the England series that’s the reason why he didn’t announce his retirement plans much before. He definitely got negative vibes from the team management and coaching staff –that is why he announced his decision to retire a mere 20 days before the start of the English tour. More so since Rohit Sharma had also bid adieu to the Test,” felt the cricketer.  

Reports about his stormy relationship with chief coach Gautam Gambhir was one of the main factors for his abrupt departure. They share a history of animosity ever since both made their debut for India in 2008---as they opened India’s innings in the ODI against Sri Lanka. “Right from their playing days, they never got along well. That’s very surprising since players who made their debut together have generally bonded very well. I think both were very strong personalities and did not get along well right from their nascent days. There was a certain amount of distrust between them which went from bad to worse as their respective careers went on.” said a former Delhi selector who knows Gambhir and Virat from their early days in the game. 

He went on to say that Virat and Gambhir didn’t have a great relationship ever since the latter took over as chief coach last year. “Though they appeared friendly off the field during shoots and for the shutter bugs, they barely spoke to each other. Both have big egos and were not willing to concede an inch.” the Delhi selector went on to say. 

Another ex- BCCI official came up with a shocker. He said that he had clear knowledge that Virat was offered captaincy for the England tour, once Rohit Sharma announced his Test retirement on May 7.  “I know for a fact that Ajit Agarkar (chairman of the selection committee) told Kohli that he would be made captain of the England team. But Virat had doubts on taking up that role, especially since he had relinquished Test captaincy in 2022. Once he refused, an incensed Agarkar then teamed up with Gautam Gambhir (head coach) and the duo then told him he would have to play under a much younger player,” the former BCCI official said.

“That was simply not acceptable to Virat, and he was left with no other option but to announce his retirement. He is not of the sort to play second fiddle and wanted to leave on his own terms,” said the selector.

Even Raj Kumar Sharma, Virat’s long- standing coach from his junior days, came up with a cryptic comment. “I had spoken to him recently and he didn’t give me a hint about retiring. I don’t want to comment on who is behind this but all I know is that he could have played at the highest level of Test for at least a couple of years more,” Sharma said.

This statement lends credence to the fact that Virat did not have any plans to retire before he made it. His decision seems to be ‘forced’ upon him. Another factor which pointed to his keen desire to play the Test series in England is the fact that he played the Ranji Trophy for Delhi in January. It must be mentioned here that after his miserable show in the Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, he returned to the domestic five-day fold after a gap of 6 long years.

 “The fact that he had returned to play the Ranji Trophy for Delhi after such a long break goes to prove that he had every intention of playing in the England series. I can tell you that the decision (to retire) was not out of his choice, but rather it was forced out of him,” said Rajinder Amarnath, a former India cricketer. 

There was a consensus that the least the BCCI could do was to give him a farewell Test at his favourite venue. This is a standard procedure which the BCCI has accorded to the top players in recognition of their services to Indian cricket.  A classic example was when Sachin Tendulkar decided to retire, he was given the chance to play a farewell Test against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in 2013, 

“Virat who has scored 82 centuries (in all 3 formats) has had a very big impact on Indian cricket. Not only as a player, but as the Test captain he had the best winning record for India. “How come the BCCI didn’t think it prudent enough to at least accord him a farewell match. Considering the fact that he has already retired from the T20s. it was all the more reason to give him a proper send off. It came as a big surprise for me,” said a former South Zone selector.  

All said and done, Team India will never be the same again in Tests without the domineering presence of Virat.