Among all of Virat Kohli In the past four years, his decision to resign from being India’s Test captain earlier in 2022 stands out as the most difficult one to accept, even though some might contend that this was necessary. his Test retirement announcement Last month wasn’t quite as big, but it did follow a period where we could see things were changing. After witnessing an extended slump from the renowned cricketer, during which India struggled notably in their recent home series against New Zealand and away series against Australia, came another significant development. The unexpected twist hit us hard when Kohli stepped down as India’s Test captain following their 1-2 loss in South Africa. This move overshadowed his earlier announcement about stepping down as India’s T20I leader shortly before the World Cup, primarily due to India's strong performance in Test matches under Kohli. There has always been a sense that some matters remained unresolved.
The speculations about Kohli aiming to reclaim his position as India's Test captain following the team's underwhelming performance in Australia earlier this year gained momentum. Recently, the comments from the former India head coach have added fuel to the fire. Ravi Shastri All but cementing Kohli's wish for reclaiming the red-ball captaincy, they went so far as to say that if it were up to them, they would certainly have offered Kohli another chance to lead again.
Multiple sources indicate that the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar did discuss matters following Virat Kohli’s expression of interest in becoming an interim captain. However, they opted not to go with this idea because their intention was to find a long-term leader for the team; thus, they chose Shubman Gill for the position instead.
“If I had my way, I’d have appointed him as captain right after Australia,” Shastri stated in a video posted by SonyLiv on social media.
Kohli called time on his Test career last month, finishing with 123 matches, 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries.
Kohli's choice was made only a few days prior to the announcement of the Indian team for the five-Test series against England.
"Virat has decided to retire from Test matches, which is quite disappointing since he's such an outstanding player—truly exceptional. Often, it takes someone leaving for others to fully appreciate their greatness; statistics alone can't capture this. What matters most is how he conducted himself, especially considering his role as a prominent advocate for Test cricket internationally. His performance at Lord’s, where his team managed to turn everything around, was incredible. Being part of those moments with him made me very happy," remarked Shastri.
"I am saddened by his departure in such an abrupt manner. I believe it might have been managed differently, perhaps with greater dialogue," he mentioned additionally.
Earlier this year during India's tour of Australia, there were reports about a cricketer attempting to ‘Mr Fix-it’ Following India’s loss in a few Test matches even though they won the initial one, The Indian Express reported without naming any player that a high-ranking member of the squad took up temporary captaincy duties with the aim of steering the team towards recovery. This move came into effect after Rohit Sharma chose to remove himself from contention for selection in the playing XI for the final Test match.
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