Days after the sudden retirement of Rohit Sharma from Test cricket, the world of cricket was shocked by reports claiming Virat Kohli has told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he wants too wants to retire from Test cricket.
Well, the last 48 hours have been really tough for the BCCI and Indian cricket, especially amid the ongoing military tensions between India and Pakistan during the Indian Premier League 2025, which was postponed on Friday.
In less than 24 hours of the IPL 2025 postponement, the board received another shock out of the blue when King Kohli, India's biggest cricket icon, informed the BCCI about his desire to retire from Test cricket.
Expressing his desire to retire from Test cricket, Kohli had told the board that he wants to move away from the format. On Saturday morning, the news started circulating across the media outlets and left cricket fans across the world shocked.
However, as the news started circulating, there was hope when several reports claimed that the BCCI was trying its best to request Kohli to reconsider his decision.
Whereas India is set to tour across England for a five-match series starting from June 20 in Headingley, and in the middle of this, players Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin have already retired.
The retirement of these cricketers could leave the Indian team handicapped in the testing conditions of England. However, according to the Toi report, legends such as Brian Lara and the board members made pleas to Virat Kohli, but it seems he has made up his mind and is not ready to change his stance.
The Toi also quoted a source saying that Kohli had informed the selectors two weeks ago about his desire to quit Test matches. They were trying to make him play in the Test series against England. However, he is still firm on his stance. "The final call will come close to the selection meeting next week," the report quoted.
As soon as the news surfaced on the internet, fans of King Kohli quickly took to social media and shared their reactions on the same. One said, "A highly influential Indian cricketer asked him to reconsider. Meanwhile, when Rohit Sharma retired, nobody gave a damn. When you're big, you're big ???"
"Virat Kohli mark my words, Test cricket will take their last breath, after Virat kohli's retirement. Viewership will decline by minimum 50 percent. broadcasters and bcci's revenue is going to come down by 50 percent if he also left ODI and ipl because of bcci humiliation."
"Why so much drama I don't understand. Retirement is a personal decision & BCCI should respect Virat Kohli's decision," another commented.
"Rohit Sharma has already retired from Test cricket. If the news of Virat Kohli's Test retirement also turns out to be true, then the Indian audience will again lose interest in Test cricket and will only watch the highlights like before."
"Woh retirement ka soch raha hai aur hum yaha Eng me kaise khel sakta woh discuss kar rahe hai ?? I hate him if he retires now"
"If Virat Kohli wants to retire from test cricket then he would've announced till now but don't know from where this news came out that he want to retire. Woh Rohit ya dhoni nahi hai jo Retirement gimmicks karega. All I need is he clarifies that this is true or fake."