‘Many people didn’t want him anymore’ - Former RCB cricketer on Virat Kohli's Test retirement

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has commented on Virat Kohli’s decision to step away from Test cricket. The Delhi-born batter retired from red-ball cricket on May 12, 2025, after representing India in 123 Tests and scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.

Kaif revealed that Kohli initially wanted to be part of the England tour but eventually reconsidered. According to Kaif, a dip in form, combined with a sense that he was no longer wanted, influenced Kohli’s decision to retire from Test cricket.

“Virat Kohli was struggling. There were two reasons behind his retirement. First, he wasn’t able to score runs as his weakness outside the off-stump was getting exposed, and every bowler was targeting him there. Second, he wanted to keep playing, he even wanted to go on the England tour, but certain things happened within the team that made him feel like many people didn’t want him there anymore,” said Kaif on his YouTube Channel.

“So when you’re already struggling for form, and on top of that, you face seam-friendly conditions in England, just like he had struggled in Australia earlier, and then you also don’t feel supported by the coaches or selectors, it becomes too much. All of that combined made him feel that his place in the XI was no longer certain, and that he might not even make the squad of 15. Because of these reasons, Kohli decided to say goodbye to Test cricket and focus on white-ball formats instead,” he added.

Addressing criticism of Kohli’s career management, particularly after relocating to London, Kaif noted that Kohli last played in IPL 2025, where he finished as the third-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 657 runs, outperforming stars such as Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer.

“Who are these people? Tell them that when Kohli played his last IPL, he scored more runs than Abhishek Sharma, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer. I look at whether a player comes to the pitch and plays an impactful innings, whether he attends the camp. If we’ve called him and he comes, practices, I observe all that,” Kaif said.

"It's an 8-hour flight; from London to Mumbai. If he says he won’t come to the camp and will go straight to Australia, then that would be wrong. You can question that, but Kohli would never do something like that,” he added.