BCCI the villain? Real reason behind Virat Kohli’s Test retirement finally revealed
Published - 15 May 2025, 11:37 AM | Updated - 15 May 2025, 11:38 AM
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India’s Test captaincy was reportedly the reason behind Virat Kohli’s sudden retirement from the longest format of the game. The constant mind changes of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) forced Virat Kohli to walk away from the format that he most loved and enjoyed.
Kohli’s sudden retirement from Test cricket has left a massive void in the Indian cricket team that may take years to fill. With Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma already stepping away from the red-ball format, Kohli's retirement has now marked the end of a golden era in Indian Test cricket.
Reason behind Virat Kohli's shock Test retirement revealed!!
The former Indian captain announced his decision on May 12 through an Instagram post. However, there were already reports of Virat’s retirement doing the rounds on social media for the last few weeks; the announcement still shocked the cricket world, especially with BCCI and several legends requesting him to continue, as the big England tour in June loomed ahead.
However, the BCCI and the Indian selectors wanted Kohli to continue only as a player, changing their “captaincy,” and it reportedly played a major role in his decision to quit the Test format. According to a Sports Today video report, Kohli was quietly given a strong hint about being reinstated as India’s Test captain for the high-stakes Australia tour in December-January.
This came after India’s crushing defeat in the second Test in Adelaide under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. The report said, “At least people close to him do seem to suggest that he was given sort of a hint that he would be getting captaincy after Adelaide. But then things changed.”
Captaincy U-Turn by BCCI pushed Virat Kohli to retire from Test Cricket
After India lost the BGT Test series in Australia, things started to change behind the scenes. The report further revealed that the Indian team management began thinking about giving the Test captaincy to a younger player instead of bringing back Virat Kohli.
Even then, the right-handed batter didn’t lose hope. He followed the BCCI’s instructions and played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi in February 2025, showing his commitment to red-ball cricket. But in April, he was told clearly that he would only be part of the team as a player, not as captain.
Read Also: Shubman Gill dumped! Gautam Gambhir rushes to Mumbai for last-minute Test captaincy change meeting
They wanted a young player to lead India’s Test team going forward, and that news came as a big blow to the iconic batter. Since there was nothing more to fight for, Kohli finally decided to retire from Test cricket. It seems that there were other factors behind his call that were not shared publicly.
Virat Kohli retired as one of India’s greatest Test batters
Notably, Virat Kohli’s Test career ended after a challenging phase where he struggled for consistency. Over the last five years, he scored 2028 runs in 68 innings with only three centuries, and his average dipped to 46. However, there were still flashes of brilliance.
He struck a brilliant century in Perth during the Australia tour last November but could manage just 90 more runs as India lost the five-match Test series 1-3. However, Kohli retired as one of India’s greatest Test batters, finishing with 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.
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