Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticized Virat Kohli’s decision to quit Test cricket but continue to play in ODIs, which he considers the easy format. Virat Kohli, along with Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson, formed the 'Fab 4' for the longest format. However, Kohli is the only one of the quartet who has retired from Test cricket.
The SCG Test between Australia and India in January 2025 proved to be Virat Kohli’s final outing in whites for India. Just days before the India squad for the England tour was to be announced in May, Virat Kohli, along with Rohit Sharma, announced his decision to retire from Test cricket.
Kohli retired from Tests with 9230 runs in 123 games, at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties and a best score of 254*. He also captained India in 68 Tests and won 40 of them, becoming the most successful India Test captain.
Kohli, who had retired from T20Is after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup win, now only plays for India in ODI format and has been in good form, looking set to continue with an eye on the ICC World Cup 2027.
Sanjay Manjrekar, in a video on his Instagram, stated that Kohli’s decision to continue playing ODIs while quitting Test cricket, instead of working on his flaws, disappoints him.
"Well, as Joe Root attains new heights in Test cricket, my mind goes to Virat Kohli. He's walked away from Tests, and it's unfortunate that in the five years that he struggled before retiring, he didn't quite put his heart and soul into finding out the problems as to why he was averaging 31 for five years in Tests. That is for another time as to what he could have done. But I just feel sad that people like Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson are really making a name for themselves in Test Cricket," Manjrekar said on his Instagram account.
Manjrekar explained his stance, saying he had no problem if Kohli stopped playing in all three international cricket formats. But the fact that he chose to continue with the 'easiest format,' ODIs, while refusing to correct his flaws in red-ball cricket, perplexed him.
“It was okay if Virat Kohli just walked away from cricket and retired from all cricket. But that he's chosen to play one-day cricket actually disappoints me more, because this is a format that, for a top-order batter, I've said before as well, is the easiest format.
The format that really tests you, first, obviously, Test Cricket, and T20 cricket have their different challenges. The other thing is because he's so fit, supremely fit, you feel even more that he could have maybe continued his fight, you know, to get back into form. Even if he was left out of a series, he could have maybe gone down to first-class cricket, played in Australia, England, or more matches in India, and tried to make another comeback," added Manjrekar.
He stated that seeing Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson score centuries in Tests leaves him desiring more from Kohli in the format.
"That could have made me truly happy. Obviously, that's his call, his choice. But yeah, when Joe Root gets hundreds or gets runs, or Steve Smith or Kane Williamson, my mind goes to Virat Kohli with a sense of disappointment and a little bit of sadness, because he cared so much for Test Cricket, didn't he?” Manjrekar concluded.
Here is the video:
