Greg Chappell

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Virat Kohli’s Test retirement was driven by mental fatigue, not poor form: Greg Chappell

Danijones2 days ago03 mins

Former Australia cricketer Greg Chappell has said that Virat Kohli’s Test retirement was due to lack of mental clarity and not his prolonged poor form. Kohli recently announced his retirement from Tests ahead of the all-important tour of England. The star batter had been enduring poor form in the longest format since 2020 and hence people believed that it was Kohli’s inability to match his old consistency that pushed him into retirement. However, Greg Chappell feels that it was more due to the lack of mental clarity that the former India captain bid adieu to the format he loved the most. Chappel mentioned that Kohli accepted that his body was faltering as his mind wasn’t in line with it. “His decision was not born of diminished skill, but from the growing realisation that he could no longer summon the mental clarity that had once made him so formidable. He accepted that, at the highest level, unless the mind is sharp and decisive, the body falters,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo. Furthermore, Chappell mentioned how lack of mental clarity can affect decision-making and footwork at the crease. “When doubt begins to settle in the bones, it disrupts decision-making, impairs footwork, and erodes the spontaneity essential to elite performance. Kohli’s retirement is a reminder that form is more a function of the mind than it is of mechanics,” Chapell wrote. Kohli retired after having played 123 Tests and scoring 9230 runs in his career at an average of 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 fifties to his name. He had been enduring poor form since 2020, having scored just 2028 runs from 39 matches (69 innings) at an average of 30.72 with three hundreds and nine fifties to his name. Since 2024, he scored 440 runs to his name from 11 matches (21 innings) at an average of 23.15 with one hundred and one fifty to his name. Due to prolonged poor form, his Test average has also taken a massive hit and dropped from 54.97 in 2019 to 46.85 by the end of his career. Published By: Rishabh Beniwal Published On: Jun 6, 2025

Virat Kohli retired from Tests due to realisation that ‘he can no longer summon mental clarity’: ‘Doubt disrupts’

Danijones2 days ago05 mins

Star India batter Virat Kohli shocked the world when he announced his retirement from Tests in May 2025. The right-hander called time on his Test career, having played 123 Tests in which he scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries. The decision to walk away from the longest format raised eyebrows as India are all set to tour England for an all-important five-Test series. Kohli has been out-of-form in the longest format for the last few years, but many felt India needed his experience in the UK. Greg Chappell says Kohli retired from Tests because of a breakdown in mental clarity (BCCI) Former Australia batter Greg Chappell feels Kohli retired from Tests due to the toll the game has taken on him mentally. He feels the 36-year-old decided to walk away because he had lost the mental clarity required to succeed at the highest level. Over the last five years, Kohli scored just four Test centuries, and his dismal form resulted in his average falling from 55 to almost 46. The former India captain averaged just a tad above 30 in the longest format of the game. “Kohli, once the embodiment of intensity and technical assurance, recently stepped away from Test cricket. His decision was not born of diminished skill, but from the growing realisation that he could no longer summon the mental clarity that had once made him so formidable. He accepted that, at the highest level, unless the mind is sharp and decisive, the body falters,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo. Also Read: ‘Virat Kohli waited only 18 years. Tendulkar’s wait was even longer’: Sehwag draws 2011 WC parallel with RCB’s IPL title “When doubt begins to settle in the bones, it disrupts decision-making, impairs footwork, and erodes the spontaneity essential to elite performance. Kohli’s retirement is a reminder that form is more a function of the mind than it is of mechanics,” Chapell added. Kohli’s horrendous run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Virat Kohli last represented India in whites in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, where Rohit Sharma and co lost 1-3. Kohli started the series well with a century in the Perth Test. However, after the ton in the series opener, it all went downhill for the star batter, who finished with just 190 runs in 9 innings. All of his eight dismissals happened in a similar fashion as he kept nicking deliveries bowled well outside of his off-stump. Kohli’s numbers in the series would have looked all the more abysmal had he not scored a century in Perth. Kohli then also played the Ranji Trophy match for Delhi against Railways, following the BCCI’s diktat. With him turning up for domestic cricket, everyone expected Kohli to board the flight to the UK for the five-match series against England. However, just days ahead of the squad announcement, Kohli called time on his Test career. Days before Kohli’s decision, even Rohit Sharma had retired from Test cricket. Now India will be without their two most senior batters in the longest format of the game.