‘Has made his mind up’: Indian superstar’s bombshell retirement reports emerge

Virat Kohli is set to retire from Test cricket ahead of India’s upcoming five-match tour of England, according to reports by The Indian Express.

The reports say that Kohli has told officials from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) he does not want to take part in the series against England which begins on June 20 at Headingley.

The publication also said that senior officials from the BCCI have requested that the 36-year-old stays with the team until the end of the tour after earlier this week captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket.

FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every AFL match this Saturday LIVE. Catch all the action in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.

“He has made up his mind and has informed the board that he is moving on from Test cricket,” BCCI sources told the newspaper of Kohli.

“The BCCI has urged him to rethink as the crucial England tour is coming up. He is yet to revert on the request.”

Sharma was sensationally dropped for the series finale at the SCG against Australia in January, and during that six-wicket loss for the visitors, The Indian Express, also reported of fractures in the dressing room under coach Gautam Gambhir who blew up at the players after their final day capitulation at the MCG.

So with it being an unstable time for the team, the departure of Kohli and his successor as skipper at the same time would leave a gaping hole off field as well as in the Indian top order, despite their struggles, ahead of a crucial series.

Kohli broke a century drought of more than a year in the series opener in Perth with an unbeaten ton during India’s second innings, but he mustered only 190 runs at an average of 23.75 with a next highest score of 36 as Australia reclaimed the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

The Australian quicks routinely found Kohli’s outside edge as he was caught behind the wicket for all nine dismissals in the series.

Off the back of that, the swinging and seaming Dukes ball in England posed a threat - Kohli averages 33.21 in 17 Tests in England with two centuries - and the Indian Express also reported that the superstar had been contemplating retirement from red ball and pink ball cricket off the back of his underwhelming tour down under.

In 123 Test matches, Kohli boasts 9230 runs at 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 fifties.

His average was north of 50 for much of his career however, but since 2020 he has scored three hundreds and averaged 30.72.

Kohli was part of the Indian ODI line-up that won the Champions Trophy earlier this year, but called time on his international T20 career after India’s triumph in the West Indies last year.

That has not diminished his IPL form, scoring 505 runs, just five runs behind competition leader Suryakumar Yadav, at an average of 63.12 and a strike rate of 143.46 for second-placed Royal Challengers Bengaluru before the tournament was suspended due to the current India-Pakistan conflict.

Click here to read article