Former India head coach Ravi Shastri revealed his conversation with Virat Kohli a week prior to his unexpected retirement from Test cricket. Shastri said that while the choice still "surprised" him, he realized it was time for Kohli to quit the format. With an Instagram post on Monday afternoon, Kohli put an end to days of abrupt conjecture, just five days after Rohit Sharma ended his Test career. With 9230 runs, including 30 hundreds, the 36-year-old concluded his career as India's fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket.
It was reported that Kohli had contacted Shastri, with whom he developed close relationship during his stint as the India head coach, before announcing his decision. The ex-Indian cricketer and coach also acknowledged that Kohli did get in touch with him.
"I did speak to him about it, I think a week before that [his announcement] and his mind was very clear that he'd given us everything," Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan. "There were no regrets. There were one or two questions I asked, and that's a personal conversation which, you know, he mentioned very clearly, there were no doubts in his mind, which made me think, 'Yes, the time is right'. The mind has told his body that it's time to go."
Kohli's contagious nature and the continuous attention he received, in Shastri's opinion, also contributed to his fatigue. “If he decided to do something, then he gave his 100%, which is not easy to match. Individually, as a bowler, as a batsman," said Shastri, who formed one of the most successful captain-coach duos in Indian Test cricket history with Kohli.
"A player does his job, [and] then you sit back. But [with Kohli] when the team goes out, it’s as if he has to take all the wickets, he has to take all the catches, he has to make all the decisions on the field,” Shastri added.
“That much involvement, I would think there’s going to be a burnout somewhere if he doesn’t take a rest, if he doesn’t compartmentalise how much he wants to play across formats, there is bound to be a burnout.”
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Shastri, who always insisted that Kohli had a few more years left in him, at least in Test cricket, the format he loved the most and was seen as an ambassador for, was "surprised" by the conversation and the decision that followed. "Virat surprised me because I thought he had at least two-three years of Test match cricket left in him," he said. "But then, when you're mentally fried and overcooked, that's what tells your body. You might be physically the fittest guy in the business. You might be fitter than half the guys in your team, but mentally you're well done, as they say, then it sends a message to the body. You know, that's it."
In Test history, not just in Indian cricket, the Kohli-Shastri era will go down as one of the best. The team snapped a 22-year drought for a series victory in Sri Lanka, won back-to-back series in the West Indies, and won a historic Test series in Australia in addition to dominating the ICC rankings table. But Shastri gave Kohli a lot of credit for Indian cricket's turnaround.
"At times when you quit the game, you know, and after a month or two months you say, 'I wish I had done this, I wish I had done this.' [Kohli] He's done everything. He's captained sides, he's won World Cups, he's won an Under-19 World Cup [2008] himself. I mean, there's nothing for him to achieve."
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