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"The time is right…" Ravi Shastri spills beans on conversation with Virat Kohli before the latter's retirement

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Published at :May 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Modified at :May 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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Virat Kohli retired from test cricket after 123 matches for India from 2011 to 2025.

Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of India, has disclosed that he had a conversation with Virat Kohli before the latter’s unexpected retirement from test cricket.

Even though India’s June five-match test trip to England was quickly approaching, Kohli announced the end of his test career on Monday, May 12. With 30 centuries and 9230 runs, the fourth-highest total by an Indian batsman, Kohli ends as one of the best test batters of his generation.

With 40 victories from 68 tests, which is 13 more than the second-best MS Dhoni, Kohli is by far India’s most successful test captain.

Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli formed a formidable duo in their time as head coach and captain of the Indian team from 2017 to 2021. India kept an impeccable record at home in tests during their tenure and reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-21.

But their biggest achievement was leading India to their maiden test series win over Australia in Australia in 2018/19.

Ravi Shastri reveals his conversation with Virat Kohli before his test retirement

Ravi Shastri stepped down as India’s head coach after India’s unceremonious exit from the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. In a recent chat with the ICC Review, Ravi Shastri revealed that Virat Kohli had talked to him before announcing his retirement from test cricket.

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. 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,” Shastri told ICC Review.

If he decided to do something, then he gave his 100%, which is not easy to match. Individually, as a bowler, as a batsman. 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, and he has to make all the decisions on the field.

With 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 compartmentalize how much he wants to play across formats, there is bound to be a burnout,” he added.

The nature of Kohli’s fame and the continual attention he received would wear him down and cause that burnout, Shastri noted.

“He’s got accolades around the globe. He has a bigger following than any other cricketer in the last decade. Whether it’s Australia or South Africa, he just got people to watch the game. There was a love-hate relationship.

They would get angry because he had the ability to get under the skin of the viewer, also. In the way he celebrated, you know, his intensity was such that it was like a rash. It spread very quickly, not just within the dressing room but within living rooms as well for people watching cricket. So he was an infectious personality,” he added.

Virat Kohli was named as one of the biggest reasons for cricket to be included in the 2028 Olympic Games.

Nothing for him to achieve: Ravi Shastri on Virat Kohli’s career

Nevertheless, Shastri acknowledged that Kohli’s choice caught him off guard. India ended a 22-year wait for a test series victory in Sri Lanka and recorded back-to-back series victories in the West Indies.

In South Africa and England, the team was fiercely competitive, going head-to-head with the home countries in environments that weren’t usually conducive to subcontinental teams. Shastri gave Kohli a lot of credit for it.

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, and he’s won an Under-19 World Cup [2008] himself. I mean, there’s nothing for him to achieve,” Shastri signed off.

Virat Kohli, who has been part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup, the 2013 and 2025 Champions Trophy, and the 2014 T20 World Cup, will continue to play ODI cricket for India.

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JNS
JNS

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