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Delhi coach drops shocker: 'Virat Kohli was planning for England tour, had no plans to retire from Tests'
Former Team India selector and Delhi Ranji team coach has revealed that Virat Kohli has no plans to retire from Test cricket and he was planning to hit at least 'three or four hundreds in England'. read more
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Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket despite having plans to play on for India. Image: PTI
Virat Kohli had no plans to retire from Test cricket and he was aiming to score at least three to four hundreds in the upcoming Test tour of England, claimed former Indian spinner Sarandeep Singh. Kohli's decision to retire from Test cricket at the age of 36, just a few days before the squad for the England tour is to be picked, has left the cricketing world in shock.
Kohli's love for Test cricket is well known and after the retirement of Rohit Sharma , it was felt that Kohli should stay on with the team for a while as the Indian cricket team gets ready for the transition. But the former captain stunned the world by quitting the longer format on Monday.
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Kohli forced to retire form Tests?
Was the decision to retire from Test cricket forced on Kohli? We may never know what happened behind the scenes but Delhi's Ranji Trophy coach and former Team India selector, Sarandeep, has confirmed that Kohli has no plans to retire at least till February.
In January, Kohli also turned up in a Ranji match for Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium against Railways as he continued to struggle with form.
Sarandeep claimed during their conversation at the time, Kohli confirmed plans to play for India 'A' team in England to prepare for the five-match Test series that starts on 20 June.
'Only he knows the reason (for his retirement). Everyone is shocked,' Sarandeep said.
'There was no sign of it. Neither did I hear from anyone else about this. Look at the way he is performing in the IPL. He is in good form.
'I asked him if he would play a couple of County Cricket matches before the England tour. He said, 'No Paaji, I am looking to play India A matches. Two India A matches where I will prepare for the Test series.' He had a settled plan. Suddenly, seeing him end his red-ball career is surprising. He doesn't have any fitness issues, no form issues,' he said.
Kohli said 'I want to score three or four hundreds in England'
Sarandeep also revealed that Kohli was aiming to hit a few hundreds on the England tour.
'If you look at the Australia tour, Virat is known for his big runs Down Under. He started with a century and didn't get it. He was not satisfied with it,' he said.
'During the Ranji Trophy, he told me, 'I want to score three or four hundreds in England. I have to take responsibility being the senior batter in the team',' Sarandeep added.
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Kohli has pulled the curtains down on a highly successful career in which he scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches. In his last Test series in Australia, Kohli scored just 190 runs in five matches.
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