Virat Kohli's Test retirement decision decoded: ‘He followed his gut feel, he will be missed'
Virat Kohli stunned the world on May 12 when he announced his retirement from Test cricket ahead of the upcoming marquee England tour. The right-handed batter, 36, decided to bring the curtain down on his Test career, having played 123 Tests for India. Kohli scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers who shares a close bond with Kohli, said that the former India skipper followed his gut feeling in deciding to step away from the longest format of the game.
Kohli had been battling poor form in Tests in the last five years, scoring just four centuries. Owing to below-par returns, Kohli's average fell down from 55 to almost 46. The batter also kept chasing wide deliveries bowled well outside off stump Down Under and all of his eight dismissals against Australia happened in a similar fashion.
However, de Villiers feels Kohli has done a lot for cricket around the world and he leaves behind a great legacy.
'He followed his gut feel. I think he has done a lot for cricket around the world over the years. Luckily, we'll still see him on the cricket field,' said de Villiers while speaking to reporters in Mumbai.
'He will be missed in Test matches, there is no doubt about it, but he leaves (behind) a great legacy with the red ball,' he added.
de Villiers reckons India can give tough competition to England in the upcoming five-match series, beginning June 20. Shubman Gill was recently appointed as the Test captain following the retirement of Rohit Sharma from Tests.
Rishabh Pant will serve as Gill's deputy. The likes of Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shardul Thakur have been named in the squad and it needs to be seen how they go in the UK.
'Yes, it's time for the younger guys to step up… Shubman Gill taking on the responsibility. There's lots of talent in India, and largely credit to the IPL for that (it is) really giving great exposure to some of the youngsters at a very early age," said de Villiers.
"We saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi this year (and) many other youngsters; they come in their first year, and they look very mature and ready to play cricket, and it's a great platform for Indian cricket,' he added.
The RCB legend also stated that the young members of the squad need to take some responsibility as the tour of England will be a tough Test.
'They've got to take some responsibility on in England, it'll be a tough test, but they have all the talent in the world, and if they believe, maybe they can achieve something special,' said de Villiers.
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