Virat Kohli decides to retire from Tests (Source: @HitmanCricket/X, @@BsamaU7/X, @@ImTanujSingh/X)
There is nothing new to the fact that cricketers are hero-worshipped in India. If one does wonders with the bat or ball in hand for a while, the amount of popularity and money the person gains is simply unimaginable.
However, only a few of them stay in the game for more than just a while. With focus, commitment and sheer willpower, they perform at the highest order time and time again, and in the process, they become the face of the sport before turning themselves into global superstars.
Virat Kohli, Beyond A Successful Cricketer!
That’s how Virat Kohli distinguishes himself from the rest. A sigma male, who possesses a magic charm as well as a ruthless nature on the field, comes once in a generation. No matter how hard you try to be like him, there is one Virat Kohli who lets his bat do the talking, even at 36.
On Monday, around 11:45 AM IST, Kohli stunned the world with one Instagram post. Yes, the speculations were that he could hang up his boots sometime soon from Tests, a format in which he advocated more than any other throughout his illustrious career and turned India into a dominant force with sheer audacity under his leadership.
And it happened for real. With a long caption and a popular music attached My Way, sung by Frank Sinatra, Kohli announced his Test retirement. Well, some songs describe one’s character, but there is nothing which could have been more appropriate for Kohli than the one he chose.
Why? You would get the answer if you closely follow the lyrics of the song:
🎶 "To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes, it was my way." 🎶 (A part of it)
With T20I retirement coming in the previous year, Kohli’s latest decision in Tests means he now only remains in ODIs, the format from which it all began long back in 2008. Of course, he will continue playing IPL, but will Test cricket be the same without Kohli? The world shall find out. It never stops, does it?
Biggest Brand Of Tests, Should Have Been Ended Better!
When there is a true warrior with a nickname of the ‘King’, there will be competitors who would attempt to take the crown. Kohli had a few in the names of Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root, but in the end, it was he who languished at the bottom in the four-way tug of war.
Of course, Kohli’s dip in form in Tests since the Covid-19 outbreak is the major reason behind his eventual numbers in Tests. But the world does not remember years, isn’t? They will see the numbers, and if you, being a massive fan of his, try to tell the next generation why he was the greatest of all time, your argument, unfortunately, will not be backed by the data.
| Virat Kohli (2011-Present) | Kane Williamson (2010-Present) | Steve Smith (2010-Present) | ||
| Mat | 123 | 105 | 116 | 152 |
| Inns | 210 | 186 | 206 | 278 |
| Runs | 9230 | 9276 | 10271 | 12972 |
| Ave | 46.85 | 54.88 | 56.74 | 50.87 |
| 100s | 30 | 33 | 36 | 36 |
| 50s | 31 | 37 | 41 | 65 |
“Name a better pairing than Virat Kohli and an outside edge.” That was Australia’s Fox Cricket’s caption when India toured for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier last year. The taunt from Australia came after Kohli got dismissed in the same manner eight times across five Tests.
Kohli has fought many battles in the past to stop the outside noise. His ardent fans were hoping to replicate the same one more time when India tours England after the IPL. However, he is human after all, and to be honest, the bold decision he took was not encouraged by his ego, which shows his true character.
The time in Tests is over, Kohli. You have served well while wearing baggy blue throughout the journey. Now, make sure to finish with a bang when you draw curtains from your favourite format, potentially two years after the ODI World Cup in South Africa.
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