Virat Kohli has been going through a lean patch in red-ball cricket since last year
West Indies batting legend Brain Lara has expressed his full faith in Virat Kohli to continue playing Test cricket and not retire from the longest format.
Reports said that Kohli had informed the BCCI of his decision to retire from Tests have prompted multiple reactions from fans as well as former players.
Lara, who still holds the record for the highest individual Test score of 400 not out, lavished praise on Kohli who is 770 runs away from the hallowed 10,000-run club.
The former left-hander felt that if Kohli continues to play in the whites, he will end his career with an average of 60. Kohli, after 123 Tests, has an average of 55.57 and has scored 30 hundreds and 31 half centuries.
“Test cricket needs Virat!! He is going to be persuaded. He is NOT going to retire from Test cricket. @virat.kohli is going to average above 60 for the remainder of his Test career,” Lara said in a post on social media.
The generational great has been going through a lean patch, averaging 33, 15 and 23 from the last three series against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia. Two of those series have come on home soil, which was a big concern for India when he toured Australia to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
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However, bowlers seemed to have found a chink in Kohli’s armour as he got out by nicking the ball outside off stump in multiple innings. While his ODI form has been decent, his score of 6 on his much-anticipated Ranji Trophy return with Delhi also added to his red-ball woes.
While fans have been aggrieved by the reports, messages have poured in from former players such as Ambati Rayudu, hoping that Kohli will go back on his decision and keep playing.
“Virat Kohli please don’t retire.. The Indian team needs you more than ever. You have so much more in the tank. Test cricket will not be the same without you walking out to battle it out for Team India.. Please reconsider..” Rayudu said in a post on ‘X’.
Coincidentally, reports on Kohli have come on the heels of Test captain Rohit Sharma’s retirement announcement from the format, which leaves multiple questions over the future of the team.
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