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Former Australia captain Aaron Finch feels Virat Kohli put his ego aside and announced his Test retirement in the best interest of Team India. Even though Virat Kohli's performance in Tests during the years leading up to his retirement announcement didn't quite reach the heights of his peak, with his batting average falling below 50 and the sheer volume of runs he accumulated in the latter part of the 2010s decreasing, his standing as one of India's most revered Test cricketers remains undiminished in the eyes of many teammates and rivals.
Aaron Finch on Virat Kohli Test retirement
This enduring respect is largely attributed to the massive achievements he oversaw as the captain of the Indian Test team. Meanwhile, Australia's World Cup-winning skipper Aaron Finch talked about Kohli's exceptional ability to prioritize the team's objectives above his personal ambitions. This selflessness was particularly noteworthy given Kohli's immense talent during his prime, when the temptation to focus on individual milestones might have been strong.
"What really stands out to me about Virat's leadership is that you can look at his numbers now and say they're not as good as they were five years ago. But he was playing on some wickets in India that were spinning hugely from day one. It was about putting your own ego aside to say, 'What's the best thing for my team right now to win a Test match against this opposition?," Finch said while speaking on JioStar during an IPL pre-show.
During his final Test series in Australia, Virat Kohli encountered a significant technical vulnerability outside the off-stump, which resulted in eight out of his nine dismissals being catches in that region. Despite this downward trend in his statistical performance during his final years in the format, Aaron Finch opined that Kohli's unwavering 'win-at-all-costs' mindset compensated for any statistical differences between him and those players throughout cricket history who concluded their careers with batting averages exceeding 50 and a greater number of Test centuries.
"They could have rolled out some flat wickets and said, 'I'm going to cash in on my own runs and make sure that my record stacks up with some of the all-time greats,' but he put his own ego aside and said, 'I want what's best for my team to win this match,'" Finch added.
Kohli's captaincy marked one of India's most triumphant eras, both on home soil and in overseas conditions. He laid the groundwork for India's remarkable 12-year unbeaten run in home Test series. Furthermore, he guided the team to a historic first-ever series victory in Australia and achieved significant breakthroughs in other SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries. India's formidable dominance in home Tests held particular significance for Kohli.
Kohli is currently busy playing IPL 2025 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will mark his first match after his Test retirement.
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