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India star batter Virat Kohli recently shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from Test cricket. This came as a huge surprise as many expected the 36-year-old to play a key role in the Men in Blue's upcoming five-match Test series against England following skipper Rohit Sharma's retirement from the format.
Virat Kohli is now only active in ODIs
The batting great announced his retirement from the T20I format following India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph which means that he is now only active in one-day cricket. His main focus will now be the 2027 ODI World Cup which is set to be jointly-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
With speculations rising over Kohli's future, former India cricketer Ravi Shastri stated that the star cricketer won't become a coach or a broadcaster and will leave the game for good once he is done.
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"He is still around to serve Indian cricket in ODIs, but I also know that Virat will walk away from the game once he is done playing cricket. He is not the kind who would like to coach or take on the role of a broadcaster. I will miss him when India plays its first Test in England. He was a champion, and that is what I would like to remember — never conceding an inch," Shastri told Sportstar.
Like other former India cricketers Virender Sehwag and Manoj Tiwary, Shastri also believes that Kohli still has a lot of cricket left in him. He stated that the batting icon could have played Test cricket for two more years, adding that he would have loved to see the 36-year-old play in the upcoming England tour.
"I am sure Virat still had two years of Test cricket left in him. I would have loved to see him in England this summer. It would have been a good idea to hand him the captaincy for the tour, but he would know best why he decided to leave. Maybe mental fatigue drove him to decide because he was as fit as any other player in the team. He knew his body best, but the mind would have played the decisive role. I will not rule out burnout as the decisive factor in curtailing his career at a critical phase of Indian cricket," Shastri added.
Following the abrupt Test retirements of both Kohli and Rohit, the Indian team is set to enter a new era in the format. The upcoming assignment against England will not only see a new captain get appointed, but also many new faces are expected to be given a chance in the series.
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