India is quite concerned about Virat Kohli’s recent red-ball performance, but the BCCI still wants his experience in the team for the England tour.
As the BCCI prepares to reveal the team for the England tour in the next few days, there are several rumors that Virat Kohli may decide to declare his retirement from Test cricket. The BCCI has reportedly warned Kohli, who is going through a slump, that he is done playing red-ball cricket for India, but the board has urged him to change his mind.
When the batting virtuoso struggled after hitting a century in the opening Test at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli had already hinted at his impending retirement. According to the source, he told his teammates, “I was done,” but since it was a hard-fought series in which India fought till the very last Test, few people took it seriously during the tour. In With 30 hundreds to date, Kohli has amassed 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85 in 123 Test matches during his storied Test career. His average has fallen below 50 over the past four years.
Despite only reaching 190 runs in the series, the batting virtuoso struck a century in Perth. Particularly during the BGT, Kohli’s constant weakness outside the off-stump—often edging pitches to the wicketkeeper or slip cordon—proved to be his downfall. His four-year-old technical defect has now become a serious worry for Team India, with both the management and supporters questioning whether he will ever regain his former dominating form.
As the selectors have a difficult job in appointing India’s new Test captain following Rohit Sharma’s retirement, the report also implies that Kohli even put up his hand to assume the captaincy once more. He stated that he would like to serve as India’s interim leader while the next leader is prepared for the next WTC cycle. The board and head coach Gautam Gambhir, however, are looking for a young player to take over the leadership role from the England series rather than a stopgap fix.
“A new cycle of WTC is beginning. From the team’s perspective, continuity and the future must be considered. Even coach Gautam Gambhir would want to have a group of players he can work with for a long time. Stopgap fixes are impossible for a series of this magnitude. The England series is really important, as the squad hasn’t had the best results in the last two Test series,” a source following events told the Times of India.
Since Rohit Sharma also announced his retirement this week, the BCCI wants Kohli to be present for the England visit since they need an experienced player for the important series.
Virat scored 249 runs at an average of 27.66 in five games during the 2021 England tour, including two fifties in nine innings. In his 17 Test matches in England, Virat has amassed 1,096 runs at an average of 33.21, including two hundreds, five fifties, and a highest score of 149.