Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has countered Sanjay Manjrekar’s claims that Virat Kohli quit the hardest of cricket formats, the Tests, for the easiest, ODIs. He stated that Virat Kohli was instead forced to quit the Test format because of outside pressure.
Virat Kohli announced a surprise retirement from Tests in May 2025, just a few days before India’s squad for the England Test tour was to be announced. He played 123 Tests for India, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
Kohli’s decision stemmed from a prolonged period of lull from 2020 onwards, where he struggled to score runs across formats. Though he managed to regain form in ODIs, scoring 765 runs in the 2023 World Cup, and helped India win the T20 World Cup in 2024, Kohli struggled to score runs freely in Test cricket, which saw his average drop below 50 at the time he quit.
With peers like Joe Root and Steve Smith still racking up hundreds, the gap left by Kohli remains a hot topic. And this was highlighted by Sanjay Manjrekar in his analysis, saying Kohli should’ve continued in Test cricket, but he quit it for the easiest of formats, ODIs, where he continues to plunder runs.
However, Manoj Tiwary has disagreed with Sanjay Manjrekar, opining that Kohli was forced to retire from Test cricket.
“I don’t agree with him. Usko majboor kiya gaya tha. An atmosphere was created such that he had to say goodbye to Tests. He isn’t someone who would just decide on his own to leave. Yes, the decision came from his mouth, but everyone knows what happened behind the scenes. After knowing everything, how can you say he left the hardest format to play the easiest one just for runs?" Tiwary stated on InsideSport.
With an eye on the 2027 World Cup, Virat Kohli has let his bat do the talking as he plundered runs in recent ODI series against South Africa and New Zealand. Starting with 74* against Australia in Sydney, Kohli has enjoyed a great run against the Proteas and Black Caps, hitting 135, 102, 65*, 93, 23, and 124 runs in six ODIs.
