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Monty Panesar drops bombshell on Virat Kohli's Test retirement: 'They said... don't expect to play all the five'
Virat Kohli had taken the cricketing world by surprise by announcing his retirement from Test cricket more than a month before the five-match series between India and England was to get underway, and less than a week after a similar announcement from captain Rohit Sharma. read more
Former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar was among those who expected Virat Kohli to feature in the five-Test series in England and continue playing in the format thereafter. Reuters/AP
Former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar has made an explosive claim on Virat Kohli's Test retirement, stating that the batting superstar decided to bail out of the upcoming tour of England in the last minute after coming to know that his place in the Test team was no longer a no-brainer.
Panesar speculated that Kohli might have received a hint on the possibility of being dropped midway during the tour, and decided to retire from the format in order to give some of the younger members of the squad and fringe players a chance.
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Panesar expresses surprise at Kohli suddenly slamming brakes on Test career
'I think he was definitely going to play. I think England were expecting, everyone was expecting him to play. I'm surprised he's kind of like bailed out. But maybe the fact that outside off-stump, he's just thinking, well, you know, they may have had a word with him,' Panesar told Hindustan Times.
'They said, look, if you don't score well in the first couple of Test matches, don't expect to play all the five. So, he's probably thinking, well, I'll just call it a day and give the youngsters a go,' he added.
Kohli had taken the cricketing world by surprise by announcing his retirement from Tests last month, more than a month before the five-match India-England series was to get underway and less than a week after captain Rohit Sharma bid goodbye to the format. Both Rohit and Kohli had endured a disappointing run in the recent tour of Australia, where the former scored just 31 runs in three Tests and the latter's form quickly nosedived after an unbeaten 100 in Perth.
However, while Rohit's days as a Test cricketer appeared numbered after the conclusion of the tour, especially after he had voluntarily opted out of the fifth and final Test in Sydney, Kohli was expected to continue for another two-three years, despite his off-side weakness that was heavily exploited Down Under by Pat Cummins and his gang of pacers.
Shubman Gill has since been appointed Rohit's successor as Test captain, with Rishabh Pant as his deputy. However, it remains to be seen who gets to bat at the hallowed No 4 spot – a position that Kohli had made his own for more than a decade following the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's retirement in 2013.
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