Virat Kohli retirement: BCCI did not request Kohli to stay in the team; Instead, he said he didn't fit in - Report | Mint

Unlike the earlier reports, instead of encouraging Kohli to remain for India’s five-test series against England, the BCCI reportedly told the 36-year-old that he was no longer needed in the Test team’s Virat Kohli off the field, and lost the final Test against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground. News comes after a recent update on the Council of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) daring attitude about Kohli’s inclusion in the group. The retirement of the 36 -year -old man will be an important turning point, as Team India’s New World Test Championship (WTC) cycle is on the cards. Unlike the earlier reports, the BCCI, according to the 36-year-old, told the 36-year-old that he was no longer needed in the Test team, instead of asking Kohli to remain for India’s five-Test series against England. BCCI’s clear message “The BCCI does not request anyone. The decision of a player is his personal choice. We do not interfere with it,” a source told Dainik Jagran. According to the report, Kohli was told that he no longer fits the Test team, and the same message was given to former captain Rohit Sharma at a meeting on May 7 in Mumbai. Virat Kohli, Retirement of Virat Kohli, took to Instagram to announce his test retirement. He wrote a deep post and ended it by saying, ‘#269 signing’ ‘It’s 14 years since I first wore the bag in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the format would take me. It tested me, shaped me and taught me what I would take for life, ‘he wrote. Kohli further expressed that he gave the format everything, “while I walk away from this format, it’s not easy – but it feels right. I gave it all that I had, and it gave me so much more than I could hope for.” “I’ll always look back on my test career with a smile,” he concluded. Struggling with the bat Kohli has had a difficult time lately. In the 2024-25 series against Australia, he scored 190 runs in five Tests, with an average of 23. His 30th Test century in Perth, where he made 100 runs, was a highlight, but the rest of the series was disappointing. Things were even worse in the home series against New Zealand, where he only scored 93 runs in six innings, with an average of 15.50. Virat Kohli’s statistics in Tests Virat Kohli played 210 Test innings and scored 9230 in his test career. The 36-year-old man beat 30 centuries and 31 fifties in the format. He registered the highest score 254* and on average 46. 85.