"Senior Players Being Removed": Virat Kohli's Coach Paints Intriguing Theory Behind Test Exit

Virat Kohli‘s retirement from Test cricket shocked the Indian cricket fraternity as many expected him to feature in the upcoming five-match Test tour of England. Kohli made the announcement days after India captain Rohit Sharma also decided to put an end to his Test career, following a series of poor returns with the bat. Recent reports claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) didn’t ask Kohli to reconsider his decision of retirement, and was instead forced to leave the Test set up.

However, Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma said his illustrious ward has set an example by quitting Test cricket when senior players are being offloaded.

“This retirement will be remembered for a very long time because when the whole country wants you to play and you are taking retirement. Kohli also set an example because you don’t see these retirements often in Indian Cricket; it’s often seen that senior players are being removed,” Rajkumar told Sports Tak.

“But Virat has an example that this is the time or for whatever reason, he has thought. I appreciate his decision and feel proud of his contribution to Indian cricket. The passion he has for the country is unparalleled,” he added.

The 36-year-old’s red-ball career transformed India’s approach to Test cricket. In 123 matches, he scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties.

He holds the record of being India’s most successful Test captain, leading the team to 40 victories out of 68 matches.

From his debut in 2011 to becoming one of India’s most successful captains, Kohli’s 30 Test centuries make him the fourth-most successful Indian batter, behind Sachin Tendulkar (51 hundreds), Rahul Dravid (36), and Sunil Gavaskar (34). Kohli also made seven Test double hundreds, the most ever by an Indian. He also has the most Test hundreds by an Indian captain, with Gavaskar (11 centuries) way behind his 20 tons.

(With IANS Inputs)