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Virat Kohli’s return in Test cricket demanded as ex-RCB coach praise ‘hunger’ for World Cup

Soumyajit Dutta

Virat Kohli in India kit [Source: @patheesh_cheeps/X]Virat Kohli in India kit [Source: @patheesh_cheeps/X]

Amid cricket experts voicing for Virat Kohli’s early retirement from Test cricket, South African legend Allan Donald weighed in. The pace great thinks Virat Kohli left the format too early, even though he had the potential for many games in him.

Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket in May 2025, and since then, he has been reigning in the ODI format with the bat. After several failures, the Indian star finally emerged from his lean patch to score tons after tons.

Virat Kohli hungry for ODI World Cup 2027

Allan Donald had earlier shared the dressing room with Virat Kohli back during his stint as a bowling coach for RCB in 2014 and 2015. Donald, impressed with Kohli’s dedication and hunger, also backed him for the 2027 World Cup.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen hunger in a player other than Virat. I've got massive respect for him. I often talk about it in the dressing rooms and chats about being a champion trainer. There's no one that trains as hard as him. He is just a machine," Donald told the media during the SA20 press conference.

Speaking of the ‘early’ Test retirement talk, Donald shared that he misses Virat Kohli in the Test arena, where the RCB star has over 9000 runs from 210 innings.

“I actually miss him in the Test match arena. I think he's retired too early, but yeah, I look with no doubt we will see him in the white-ball arena in the World Cup very, very soon," Donald added.

Virat Kohli in peak form since 2025

While Donald echoed the sentiments of Indian wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik, who also backed Kohli for a Test return a few days back, the India star is stomping on the ODI stage. In 2025, Virat Kohli played 13 ODI matches, from which he boasts an average of 65.1.

Kohli also boasts three centuries and four half-centuries before he headed for the first ODI against New Zealand on January 11 at Vadodara.