Former India Coach 'Shell-Shocked' By Virat Kohli's Sudden Test Retirement

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Last Updated:May 14, 2025, 15:23 IST

R Sridhar was shocked by Virat Kohli's abrupt Test retirement. Kohli, India's astir palmy Test captain, retired aft 14 years. Sridhar praised his enactment and impact.

Virat Kohli called clip connected his Test career. (PTI)

R Sridhar, the erstwhile India men’s squad fielding coach, said helium was near shell-shocked implicit Virat Kohli abruptly announcing his status from Test cricket. Sridhar added that helium was fortunate to person been successful the nationalist set-up erstwhile Kohli was India’s Test skipper from 2015 to 2021, and yet became the country’s astir palmy skipper successful the longer format.

In an Instagram station connected Monday, Kohli announced that helium volition beryllium retiring from Tests with contiguous effect, ending a 14-year vocation worthy 9,230 runs successful 123 matches astatine an mean of 46.85, including hitting 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest people of 254 not out.

“Who tin hide that celebrated punctuation which helium said astatine the Lords, ‘Let’s springiness them 60 hours of hell’. I americium shell-shocked astatine the abrupt announcement of Test status by Virat Kohli to beryllium precise honest.

“I’ve been precise fortunate to beryllium determination wholly passim his captaincy tenure, and what I saw was thing but passion, persistence, the volition to win, the honesty and the fearlessness with which helium took Indian cricket forward," said Sridhar successful a video posted connected Coaching Beyond’s Instagram relationship connected Wednesday.

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Under Kohli’s leadership, India’s grounds was 40 wins and 17 defeats successful 68 matches, and included the side’s first-ever Test bid triumph successful Australia successful 2018/19. After the 2-1 bid decision successful South Africa, Kohli stepped down arsenic the Test skipper successful aboriginal 2022.

In the past fewer years, Kohli had struggled to marque accordant runs successful Tests, arsenic seen from him making lone 190 runs successful 9 innings of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which India mislaid 3-1. Sridhar, presently starring a ten-day fielding campy for the Sri Lanka nationalist teams successful Colombo, further said Kohli’s status from the format is simply a immense nonaccomplishment for the side, who person a five-match circuit of England coming up from June 20.

“About his captaincy, I deliberation his intensity, his aggression and his quality to usage accelerated bowlers to large effect. Since helium took implicit the captaincy successful 2015, I’m precise grateful that I was witnessing it from adjacent quarters. The mode helium changed the civilization with fittingness and fielding, the mode helium changed the civilization – going with 5 bowlers and the batters taking a batch of work – and helium did it himself clip and again.

“Thereafter, India has ne'er looked backmost arsenic a Test-playing nation. Learning what the young cricketers had portion helium was determination successful the alteration country is thing that cannot beryllium substituted with anything. So I deliberation it’s a immense nonaccomplishment for Indian cricket with him not being around. I americium shocked. I anticipation his bequest lives connected forever," helium concluded.

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News cricket Former India Coach 'Shell-Shocked' By Virat Kohli's Sudden Test Retirement