Kohli called time on his illustrious Test career on May 12.
Less than a week after bidding farewell from Test cricket, Kohli has received a request from former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary to reverse his decision.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Tiwary said there’s a chance Kohli had a ‘brain fade’ moment and hastily made a decision because he still has a ‘lot of cricket left in him’.
According to multiple reports, Kohli had reportedly conveyed his decision to the BCCI almost a month before the public announcement and also discussed it with several of his mentors, including Ravi Shastri.
“I felt a bit sad. In an era where T20 cricket is racing ahead, Kohli has kept Test cricket alive. He could have easily not given it the required importance. But he kept Test cricket as a priority always. We saw that in his captaincy, too. I’ll ask him to close his eyes and take the retirement back as soon as possible. It’ll bring back the happiness on the faces of all cricket fans. Even I did that. I took back retirement from first-class cricket after just five days and then played for Bengal, trying to win the Ranji Trophy,” Tiwary said.
“Sometimes you face a time when a brain fade can happen and you make a decision. It’s possible he had that too. There’s a lot of cricket left in him. He was too close to 10,000 runs. Although it might not be important to him, a lot of young cricketers dream of making their name in Test cricket and reaching that milestone. He had a good chance. I don’t know what happened or what went wrong that he made this decision," he added.
On the same show, former India opener Virender Sehwag was asked what makes Virat Kohli so special.
In reply, Sehwag said: “His hunger for runs is what makes him different, sets him apart. He follows his routine, his hard work, whether or not he’s making runs. A lot of cricketers stop working hard when their runs are not coming but not him. And then his fitness. Even today, he will leave 90% of players behind in fitness at 36 years old. I would say because of that, he retired too early in Tests; he could comfortably have played 2 more years."
Virat Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011, played an instrumental role in India's red-ball resurgence over the past decade with his aggressive captaincy, prolific batting and unmatched intensity on the field.
Under his captaincy, India were competitive everywhere and registered their maiden Test series triumph on Australian soil in 2018-19.
Overall, Kohli led his country in 68 Test matches and suffered defeat in only 17 of them. With 40 wins and 11 draws, he boasts a remarkable win percentage of 58.82, making him the most successful Test captain in India's history.
The 36-year-old finished his Test career with 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with the highest score of 254.