Virat Kohli, who on May 12 announced his retirement from Tests, decided to actually announce the decision much earlier in April. Taking to Instagram on Monday, the 36-year-old penned an emotional note as he bought curtains to 14 glorious years in Test cricket since making his debut in the format in 2011 against the West Indies.
However, according to The Indian Express report, Kohli decided to call time on his Test career as he wanted to spend more time with his young family. The legendary batter followed in the footsteps of Rohit Sharma in bringing the curtains down in the longest format of the game before India's Test tour of England starting on June 20.
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While many expected Kohli's decision to retire from Tests was due to his dismal returns in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which saw him score just 186 runs in five Tests, a fresh report has emerged that the decision was more of a personal one than about his form.
BCCI's 10-point dossier primary reasons for Virat Kohli's retirement
After India's 3-1 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, BCCI came up with a stringent 10-point dossier. The rule stated restrictions on family members traveling with players. The family could only stay with a player for 14 days if a tour exceeded more than 1.5 months. Virat Kohli also texted the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, and a powerful administrator running the Indian team in April to inform his wish to step away from Tests. The 36-year-old wanted to spend more time with his family, and this was one vital reason for his quitting.
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However, the board was not ready to accept Kohli's 'hasty' decision and asked him to reconsider the decision. While a lot of experts and fans believed the right-hand batter would reverse the decision, the inevitable happened as he decided to stick to the decision to retire, and contacted the board on May 07. The star batter was again asked to reconsider the decision and wait before making a public announcement, considering 'Operation Sindoor' and the war-like situation with Pakistan.
Virat Kohli's statement on family playing a vital role during long tours
For the unversed, Kohli also spoke about the importance of family and their emotional support during long tours.
“The role of the family is very difficult to explain to people, how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something intense, which happens on the outside," he said.
“I don’t think people have an understanding of what value it brings. I don’t want to go to my room and just sit alone and sulk. I want to be able to be normal. Then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility," Kohli added.
