It’s almost a month since Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket. He has since won the IPL trophy with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and racked up over 600 runs in the season. Indian cricket seems to have moved on, too, with the BCCI announcing an 18-member squad for the tour of England. However, a discussion that continues to rage on is the circumstances behind his retirement. With Kohli still 36, the belief was that he would continue to play Tests at least for another couple of years, given his love for the format, which the world is aware of. Heck, even after winning the IPL after 18 long years, Kohli places this accomplishment of his ‘five levels below’ Test cricket. That’s how much he loves Test cricket.
So, why retire? After his poor returns in Australia – 191 runs from 9 innings – Kohli even turned up to play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. It clearly showed that he was keen to continue. So what exactly happened in two months’ time? As the conspiracy theories refuse to die down, former Australia captain Mark Taylor reveals he noticed something very unusual in Kohli when he was in Australia this time around, and that could well be a factor in the great man making up his mind.
“Last year, I saw a different Virat Kohli [in Australia]. An angry one. And I have never seen an angry Virat Kohli. I have seen a very highly competitive Virat Kohli, and I love that about him. I always saw the gentleman. Last year I saw a different Virat Kohli and I said a month ago that it is time for him to retire. And he did. Because once you get angry, you’ve got to get out. And I think he realised that. If you start getting angry, you are gone,” Taylor said on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.
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The one instance of Kohli being angry was during his last innings of the fifth Test in Sydney. Having nicked himself out caught behind for the eighth time, Kohli thudded his bat onto his pads and let out a huge scream. As it turns out, after this dismissal, Kohli kept saying ‘I am done’, which his teammates did not take seriously. Nonetheless, on a very practical note, more than the frustration, it was his vulnerability outside the off stump that may have cast doubts inside Kohli’s mind. For someone who took the bull of Test cricket by its horns, Kohli didn’t want to be a pale shadow of his former, once-dominating self.
Mark Taylor’s meeting with Virat Kohli
To prove this point, Taylor recalled another instance with Kohli, which showed just how much the man respected the format and held it in such high regard.
“Like a lot of cricket fans, I was disappointed with Virat last year. Because I had always greatly admired Virat and was his fan. I was lucky enough to interview him many years ago when he first came out as captain at the Adelaide Oval (2014). We had a half-an-hour time slot. We had this big interview lined up. Cameras everywhere,” said Taylor.
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“And about 25 minutes into it, the PA system kicked in around the ground and made a hell of a noise. I had a handful of questions left – three or four – and we had to stop the interview. He sat there in his chair and the media manager came out and said ‘we got to get out of here’. Kohli got up and as did I to say goodbye. He looked at me and said ‘Mark, have you finished this interview?” And I said, no but I understand you might have to go. He said “No. We are going to finish this interview”. Now that was great respect to me but also to the game of Test match cricket. He talked in that interview about his love for Test cricket, looking forward to playing Australia. Beating Australia in Australia. That’s the pinnacle.”
Kohli has yet to open up on his decision to retire from Test cricket. Barring the Instagram post he uploaded in the afternoon of May 12, which broke a million hearts, there isn’t much to know. Perhaps, with time, it will become clearer what his rationale was behind the decision. Until then… keep guessing.
