As the dust settles over Virat Kohli’s shocking retirement, his former coach and current business partner, Ravi Shastri, has revealed the conversation he had with him. Kohli only spoke to a handful of people before informing the BCCI and announcing his Test retirement at just 36 years of age. Shastri said he spoke to Kohli a week before the announcement and that he was very clear in his mind about the retirement.
“I did speak to him about it, I think a week before that announcement. His mind was very clear that he’d given us everything. There were no regrets. There were one or two questions I asked, and that’s a personal conversation which, he mentioned very clearly, there were no doubts in his mind, which made me think, ‘Yes, the time is right’. The mind has told his body that it’s time to go,” Ravi Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan in The ICC Review.
Virat Kohli Test career highlights
- Matches: 123
- Innings: 210
- Runs: 9230
- Debut: 2011 vs West Indies
- Avg: 46.85
- 100/50: 30/31
- 4s/6s: 1027/30
Announcement that shocked the world
All great Test batters in India have announced their retirement around 39-40 years of age. However, a supremely fit Virat Kohli surprised everyone when he retired from Test cricket at 36, three days after his long-time colleague Rohit Sharma. While there were a lot of rumours around Kohli’s spot in the Test team after a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where Kohli was dismissed similarly eight times in nine innings.
However, with the India vs England Test series coming up in June, everyone expected him to continue and make amends. Kohli decided to give up instead. Shastri said it is not easy to give 100% all the time, and that could have led to burnout. Kohli played with passion and 100% commitment as if he were bowling all the overs to get all the wickets or batting as if he were scoring all the runs. However, Shastri was still surprised by Kohli’s decision.
“That much involvement, I would think there’s going to be a burnout somewhere if he doesn’t take a rest. If he doesn’t compartmentalise how much he wants to play across formats, there is bound to be a burnout. Virat surprised me because I thought he had at least two-three years of Test match cricket left in him,” Shastri said.
The legacy of Virat Kohli
While Virat Kohli may not be in the same league as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid or Ricky Ponting in terms of runs and stats, he surpassed them all. Kohli made Test cricket great again when fans were turning their back on Tests for T20s. But with his passion, aggression, and advocacy, Kohli reignited the flame, becoming the de facto brand ambassador of Test cricket in the world.
As the captain of the India Test team, he surpassed all the previous captains, making India a force to be reckoned with in Tests. He surpassed all previous Indian captains, leading India to 40 wins out of 68 matches. His winning percentage of 58.82 is far ahead of everyone else from India. He is only behind Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. Shastri lauded Kohli’s achievements, saying he has nothing else to achieve anymore.
“He’s done everything. He’s captained sides, he’s won World Cups, he’s won an Under-19 World Cup himself. I mean, there’s nothing for him to achieve,” Shastri said.
Best Winning percentage as Test Captain
| Player | Span | Country | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | Winning % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Waugh | 1999-2004 | Australia | 57 | 41 | 9 | 7 | 71.92 |
| Ricky Ponting | 2004-2010 | Australia | 77 | 48 | 16 | 13 | 62.33 |
| Virat Kohli | 2014-2022 | India | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 58.82 |
| Vivian Richards | 1980-1991 | West Indies | 50 | 27 | 8 | 15 | 54 |
| Michael Vaughan | 2003-2008 | England | 51 | 26 | 11 | 14 | 50.98 |
| Hansie Cronje | 1994-2000 | South Africa | 53 | 27 | 11 | 15 | 50.94 |
| Clive Lloyd | 1974-1985 | West Indies | 74 | 36 | 12 | 26 | 48.64 |
| Graeme Smith | 2003-2014 | South Africa | 109 | 53 | 29 | 27 | 48.62 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | 2010-2017 | Pakistan | 56 | 26 | 19 | 11 | 46.42 |
| MS Dhoni | 2008-2014 | India | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 45 |
| Joe Root | 2017-2022 | England | 64 | 27 | 26 | 11 | 42.18 |
| Alastair Cook | 2010-2016 | England | 59 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 40.67 |
| Stephen Fleming | 1997-2006 | New Zealand | 80 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 35 |
| Alan Border | 1984-1994 | Australia | 93 | 32 | 22 | 38 | 34.4 |
| Michael Atherton | 1993-2001 | England | 54 | 13 | 21 | 20 | 24.07 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga | 1989-1999 | Sri Lanka | 56 | 12 | 19 | 25 | 21.42 |
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