Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Shreevats Goswami reckons that the batting great Virat Kohli 'should have left playing ODIs & continued playing test cricket' after India's batting collapse in the second Test match against South Africa at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Shreevats penned down a post on social media where he wrote that Test cricket misses Kohli and made the team believe that they can win in any condition after India bundled out on 201 runs in the first innings of the second Test match.
"Ideally, Virat should have left playing ODIs & continued playing test cricket until he had nothing to give. Test cricket misses him. Not just as a player but just the energy he brought, the love & passion playing for India, where he made the team believe that they can win in any condition," wrote Shreevats Goswami on X.
When did Kohli announce his Test retirement?
Notably, Kohli, who is one of the most successful Test captains to lead India, announced his Test retirement earlier this year on May 12 before the five-Test match series of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 against England. The modern-day great's last Test outing came in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025, where he managed to score 190 runs in five outings, including an unbeaten ton in the first Test.
Virat Kohli's upcoming outing
Virat Kohli who had retired from Tests and T20Is, will now be seen featuring in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, which will start from November 30. The batting maestro's last international outing came against Australia in the three-match ODI series.
India vs South Africa 2nd Test
Coming back to India vs South Africa 2nd Test, South Africa tightened their grip on the second Test after bowling India out for 201 and ending Day 3 at 26 for no loss in their second innings. With Ryan Rickelton on 13* and Aiden Markram on 12*, the visitors stretched their overall lead to 314 runs, putting them in complete control with two days still left for the last Test of the Freedom Trophy 2025. Earlier, the Proteas had posted a mammoth 489 total in their first innings and faced only eight overs in the final session after wrapping up India cheaply.
India struggled badly with the bat despite a fighting half-century from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and a gritty innings from Washington Sundar (48). Wickets fell at regular intervals, four in the morning session and three more in the second, leaving India reeling at 122 for 7 before Washington and Kuldeep Yadav tried to shift the momentum of the 72-run stand. Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers 6 for 48, while Simon Harmer took 3 for 64. The rest of India’s batting lineup, including Rahul, Pant, Jadeja, and Sudharsan, fell cheaply as the hosts collapsed under sustained pressure.