Virat Kohli 'wanted to continue' in Tests but may have lacked BCCI support: Mohammad Kaif

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has suggested that Virat Kohli was keen to continue playing Test cricket but may not have received the necessary backing from the BCCI. read more
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket due to a lack of support from the management or the selectors. Kaif added that Kohli was very much interested in continuing his Test career and whatever happened behind the scenes led to his sudden retirement.
Kohli, who is known for his love for Test cricket, stunned the cricketing world after calling it quits in Test cricket on 12 May, a little over one month before the five-match Test series in England. Kohli retired just a few days after Rohit Sharma also decided to retire from Test cricket.
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'Kohli did not get BCCI's support'
Kaif, however, is not convinced Kohli took the decision on his own . He feels the lack of support the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee forced him to retire from tests, as by playing in the Ranji Trophy match for Delhi earlier, the 36-year-old had shown that he was ready to continue in the five-day format .
'I think he wanted to continue in the format. There must have been some internal talks with the BCCI, the selectors may have cited his form in the past 5-6 years and told him his spot in the team may no longer be there. We will never find out what happened, it is very difficult to guess what actually took place behind the scenes,' Kaif told news agency IANS.
'But given the last minute decision, having played the Ranji trophy, I definitely think he wanted to come back in the upcoming Tests. The developments in the last few weeks, he may have not gotten the support he thought he will get from BCCI and selectors which he may not have gotten,' he added.
Poor Australia tour could have driven Kohli to retirement
Further explaining Kohli's decision, Kaif added that the poor performance in Australia, where he constantly got out in slips, must have also played a role.
'In the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he looked in a hurry to score runs. You have to stay out for hours and grind in Test cricket, which he has done in the past but the constant edging of the ball moving away from him while attempting to drive, made me feel his patience was a bit less,' Kaif said.
'Maybe he was thinking 'I am in the last phase of my career what's the point of scoring a gritty century, there used to be a different level of patience on display from him before, he used to leave the balls, take his time, tire the bowlers and then took them down but I did not see that from him in Australia'.'
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'That one method of dismissal at the slips perhaps shows that he was not ready to spend hours at the crease. The communication from BCCI and the self-realization in red-ball cricket may have led to the decision,' he added.
Kohli scored just 190 runs in nine innings at 23.75 on the Australia tour.

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