Virat Kohli has been sent an SOS by a former Indian legendary World Cup-winning all-rounder, urging him to relinquish retirement and make a comeback to Test cricket.
The request comes on the heels of India’s narrow 22-run defeat to England in the third Test of the five-match series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Lord’s. Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket two months ago in May, but has since received several requests from many former Indian cricketers to reconsider his retirement. In fact, the BCCI itself tried to talk Kohli into not retiring, but it wasn’t to be.
Now, as India trail England 1-2 in the series, Kohli has received another request from the former all-rounder who also served as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. The void left by Kohli has been well filled by the current India captain, Shubman Gill, who has bludgeoned over 500 runs in the series. But following the loss at Lord’s, where India failed to chase down 193 in the final innings of the Test match, has prompted this legend to make one last-ditch effort to change Kohli’s mind.
“Virat Kohli’s passion for Indian cricket was unmatched. It’s my wish that he should come back to Test cricket after retirement. There’s nothing wrong with returning. If not in this series, he should make a comeback in the next,” Madan Lal said while speaking to CricketPredicta.
“From my point of view, he should reverse his retirement. Because he can easily play for 1-2 years. It’s about you passing your experience to the youngsters. You just left it. It’s not too late. Please come back.”
Virat Kohli’s Test retirement still shocking
Kohli retired with 9230 runs from 123 Tests after a 14-year-long career. He will continue to play ODIs, but the decision to walk away from Tests, in particular, came as a shock because of Kohli’s love for the format. He gave Test cricket, especially in India, a whole new identity. Gone were the days of mediocre draws. Under Kohli, India started gunning for results. They would chase anything, until and unless a bigger picture was at stake. In 2018, Kohli became the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia when India won the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under by a 2-1 margin. In 2021, Kohli’s India gave England a run for their money on their turf, and, until he was captain, the team led 2-1.
Only Kohli can answer why he retired. Despite calling it five levels above IPL and jokingly brushing it under the carpet by saying he needs to colour his beard once every four weeks, Kohli has yet to talk about it at length. Perhaps when he returns in blues, Kohli may touch upon it – no guarantees, though. As far as his return is concerned, Kohli is set to play ODIs next in October when India travel to Australia for a limited-overs trip. After the Bangladesh series in August was called off, Sri Lanka Cricket has written to the BCCI, proposing a tour. If that comes through, Kohli would be back sooner. If not, October it is.