Kohli called time on his Test career in May 2025, days ahead of the England tour.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has made explosive claims about Virat Kohli's sudden retirement from Test cricket last year.
According to Jaffer, Kohli appeared "bitter" regarding his treatment by former chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his selection panel. He suggested that this dynamic may have influenced Kohli's shocking decision to quit the longest format on May 12, 2025, right before India's crucial five-match Test tour of England.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Jaffer expressed disappointment that Indian cricket lost a player who still had plenty to offer in red-ball cricket. However, he noted that the absolute truth will remain unknown until Kohli speaks on the matter himself.
Kohli walked away from the Test format with 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties. His last Test appearance came during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
"It felt like Virat was a bit bitter about the way he was treated. A player like Virat brings people to the ground. He has such a following. He definitely could have played more Test cricket. Till we hear it from Virat's mouth, we won't know. He was preparing for the England tour," Jaffer said.
Agarkar’s tenure as the chairman of the senior men's selection committee officially concluded on October 4, 2026 as he decided against seeking extension. His tenure brought immense white-ball success to the Indian team, including three ICC titles (2024, 2026 T20 World Cups and 2025 Champions Trophy), two Asia Cups and back-to-back gold medals in the Asian Games.
While limited-overs success was unprecedented, the team’s graph went down considerably in the Test format, suffering clean sweeps at the hands of New Zealand and South Africa in home series.
Reflecting on his tenure, Jaffer raised questions regarding numerous decisions taken by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.
"We have done very well in white-ball cricket. We won two World Cups, the Asia Cup, and the Champions Trophy. So we have won trophies. I would give him 7 marks out of 10. I think how he handled some people could have been better. Surya was dropped after winning the T20 World Cup. Why was Bhuvi not playing T20Is? Where is Shami? Then, whatever was happening with Sarfaraz, Auqib Nabi was not picked earlier; Abhimanyu Easwaran's case has also been like this," Jaffer stated.
"Then, the way he handled Virat and Rohit, and made Iyer the captain straightaway after the IPL. Rohit was removed from captaincy after winning the Champions Trophy. These are the things I feel could have been better. But he's known to be blunt and is not scared to take hard decisions," he remarked.