Virat Kohli took over as India’s Test captain in 2014 after former skipper MS Dhoni announced his retirement from test cricket. When Kohli captained India for the first time in a full Test series, he scripted history by becoming the first Indian skipper to win a Test series in Sri Lanka after many years. Recently, the question has been if Kohli is retiring soon?
The former captain of the India national cricket team made 19 centuries in the period between 2014 and 2016. He was recognized as the world’s premier batsman across formats. He also led India to the No. 1 position in the ICC Test rankings and held that spot for five consecutive years.
Kohli, who last scored a hundred in any format in November 2019, his miserable run with the bat has coincided with his stepping down as captain of India in T20 and Test cricket. And also being removed as ODI skipper. He stood aside as a skipper at Bangalore after the previous IPL season.
Overall, the world realistically expects this run-machine to play international cricket for the next 6-7 years. It is something that he and other top players have experienced before. Former India coach Ravi Shastri had suggested the star batter take a break saying that he was “overcooked.” Several former cricketers including Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen have asked him to take a break from the game.
Perhaps every cricket expert now wants Virat to take a break. But the champion cricketer is exerting 2x more than ever before. However, his recent drought of runs has gravely pushed him back when it comes to breaking the game’s pinnacle batting records.
Will Virat Kohli retire soon in the next couple of years
Kapil Dev has said in clear words to drop the player if he is not performing whether he is Kohli or someone else. “I haven’t played much cricket like Virat. But sometimes you may not have played enough cricket but you can look to figure things out. Either that, or we just cannot criticize such great players. We have played cricket and we understand the game and after that, they have to improve their thought process, not ours.“
“If you prove us wrong, we will like it. If you don’t score runs, we feel there is some fault. We just see one thing and that’s your performance. And if the performance is not good, don’t expect people to stay quiet. Your bat and your performance must speak, nothing else,” Kapil said.
Virat Kohli’s viewpoint on this debate going around
Former India captain Virat Kohli has said that he wants to leave Indian cricket in a very good space before he retires from the sport. Kohli, while speaking on RCB Podcast, said that he wants to leave Indian cricket with great talents and strong individuals. Who can further the work he has done for the past several years as captain. Currently, the Indian test team is struggling and a sudden exodus of Virat Kohli will leave a huge turmoil that can make Indian cricket pay. Similarly in T20i during the last home series vs South Africa, they were missing experienced batters like Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Also, read: Does Mohammad Abbas deserves a comeback, or is it over for him?
Replacements for Virat if he retires
Suryakumar Yadav has developed himself as a proper batter and the best middle-order choice for India in white-ball cricket. Shreyas Iyer has also a terrific record in first-class cricket and white-ball cricket. He has yet to perform on big occasions and particularly in tests. In red-ball cricket, India has been staggering to find a proper batter. Moreover, the Asia cup, the t20 world cup, and the ODI world cup are to come late this year, and next year consecutively, BCCI will not let Virat Kohli retire if he opts to do so.
1 Comment
Raheel
Good boss