NEW DELHI: Several former cricketers, including West Indies great Brian Lara, have urged Virat Kohli to reconsider his reported decision to retire from Test cricket. According to TOI reports, Kohli has conveyed his desire to step away from the longest format of the game—a development that has sent ripples through the Indian cricketing community.But what does Test cricket mean to Kohli?In a video going viral on social media, Kohli—who has played 123 Tests and scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85—opened up about how much the format means to him.“You need to be honest with yourself. I mean, you know, Test cricket is tough. I mean, even when you’re one of the top teams in the world or probably the best test team in the world over the last few years, you can still go into a space where you probably don’t want it. You know, at certain stages, you feel like, for five days, do I want to do this again? So you really need to be absolutely honest with yourself. Are you ready for the hard grind? Are you ready to wake up on day three when things are absolutely stacked up against you, when you know that you are in trouble? You know, as a batting unit, are you going out there to get that 100 or get that 150 for your team? You know it’s going to be tough. You probably have to do it for five, six hours over a period of two days. Are you strong enough to do that? If you told me I had to walk away from this game tomorrow, I can walk away without any regrets. Because everything that I’ve done since I entered the Indian cricket team has always been for the team, has always been from the point of view, how can I improve this environment that I’m a part of?” Kohli said.“The reason why I reach out to these guys is because I don’t want them to waste probably months and years of my life that I wasted as a youngster still trying to figure things out when I found out the formula for success and what it means to compete at this level,” he added.
“I want these guys to pick it up early so that the transition with Indian cricket can be very smooth. It should not take youngsters two and three years after the seniors are gone to build the team again. So I want them up to speed immediately when we are, you know, almost about to step out and Indian cricket stays on top of,” Kohli said.
Since making his Test debut in 2011, Kohli has played a pivotal role in India’s red-ball resurgence. Renowned for his aggressive leadership, consistent batting, and fierce competitiveness, he transformed India into a formidable Test unit both at home and abroad.With over 9,000 runs and 30 centuries in the format, Kohli’s contribution to Test cricket has been nothing short of monumental.
