'Virat Kohli, please don't retire, Indian team needs you more than ever': Ambati Rayudu's public plea
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu has urged Virat Kohli to 'reconsider' his decision amid growing reports of the latter's Test retirement call. Several reports are circulating stating that Kohli has informed the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) that he no longer wants to play the longest format of the game. India are slated to travel to England next for the five-match Test series, and reportedly, Kohli has decided to bid adieu to his long-cherished format.
Kohli has been witnessing a lean patch in Tests for five years, having scored just four centuries. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Kohli endured a hard time, scoring just 190 runs in nine innings. His numbers would have looked all the more abysmal had he not scored a century in the series opener in Perth.
However, Rayudu feels Kohli still has a lot to offer the team in Tests. Taking to social media, he said that the Indian team needs Kohli more than ever and asked the former India captain to 'reconsider' his decision.
It must be mentioned that Rohit Sharma retired from Tests earlier this week. If Kohli also joins Rohit, then India would be without its two most senior pros in England, and the team would have a relatively inexperienced batting order.
"Virat Kohli please don't retire.. The Indian team needs you more than ever. You have so much more in the tank. Test cricket will not be the same without you walking out to battle it out for Team India.. Please reconsider," Rayudu wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Kohli kept on being dismissed in a similar fashion as he kept chasing deliveries bowled in the fourth-stump channel.
The likes of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland made full merry of Kohli's apparent and well-known weakness in Tests.
In the last five years, the right-hander has managed just four centuries in Tests. He started the Border-Gavaskar Trophy well, scoring a ton in the series opener in Perth.
However, the returns started dwindling following the Perth Test as the weakness outside the off-stump got the better of Kohli.
A dip in form has led to Kohli's average dipping to 46 in the longest format. He is also yet to breach the 10,000-run mark in Tests as he is 770 runs away from the landmark
Kohli has so far featured in 123 Tests for India, leading the team in 68 matches.
The former India captain's record in England is also not that great. In 17 Tests, he has scored 1096 runs at an average of 33.21 with two centuries and five fifties.
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