Virat Kohli's former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate AB De Villiers has put all the debate around the superstar batter's Test retirement to rest. AB De Villiers believes that Virat Kohli followed his intuition in making such a big decision of his life. Kohli's announcement in early May, which saw him end a 14-year-long Test career, came as a shock and followed a similar decision by Rohit Sharma. This means India will now begin a new era in Test cricket under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, without the veteran duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli must have listened to his heart: AB De Villiers
During an interaction with Times of India, De Villiers said that Kohli's decision to retire from the longest format of the game was a deeply personal one, guided by his inner feelings. He emphasised Kohli's immense contributions to cricket over the years and expressed that fans are fortunate to still witness him play in other formats. De Villiers concluded by stating that Kohli's presence in Test cricket will be greatly missed, acknowledging the remarkable legacy he built in the red-ball game.
“He must have listened to his heart. He followed his gut feeling. He has done a lot for cricket around the world over the years, and luckily we still see him on the cricket field,” de Villiers said.
Virat Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011, has had a tremendous career in the longest format of the game. Across 123 matches, he amassed 9230 runs at a solid average of 46.85.
Kohli officially announced his decision to retire from Test cricket through a heartfelt note shared on his social media platform.
The former South African captain also stated that Kohli has left a great legacy and his presence will be dearly missed in Test matches.
"He will be missed in Test matches. He leaves a great legacy in the red ball," De Villiers added.
Kohli's decision was preceded by Rohit Sharma's Test retirement and few days on the 36-year-old drew curtains on his illustrious career in the longest format.
With both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from the format, a new generation of batters is now expected to fill the big void they leave behind. De Villiers expressed his excitement about seeing these young players rise to the challenge.
"Yes, it's time for the younger guys to step up... Shubman Gill taking on the responsibility. There's lots of talent in India, and largely credit to the IPL for that, (it is) really giving great exposure to some of the youngsters at a very early age. We saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi this year (and) many other youngsters, they come in their first year and they look very mature and ready to play cricket, and it's a great platform for Indian cricket. They've got to take some responsibility on in England, it'll be a tough test, but they have all the talent in the world and if they believe, maybe they can achieve something special," De Villiers earlier said on the sidelines of a NGO Project Mumba.