Indian cricket team star batter Virat Kohli shocked everybody by announcing his retirement from Test cricket. Kohli, regarded as among the best batter of contemporary cricket, retired from the longest form of the game as India’s effective captain. Overall, he was the fourth most-effective Test captain in the world before saying goodbye to the format.
BCCI Reportedly Hinted at Return of Virat Kohli as Captain
While much speculation already surrounds Kohli’s decision, a Sports Today report stated that the BCCI hinted at making him captain again but chose not to pursue the call. Virat was apparently given a hint that he can become captain again while they were playing against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the report added.
“At least people close to him do seem to suggest that he was given sort of a hint that he would be getting captaincy after Adelaide. But then things changed,” the report said.
BCCI’s U-Turn After Australia Series Loss
But after India’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Australia in the five-match series, BCCI did a total flip-flop and reportedly went ahead with the process to find a young captain.
In accordance with the report, Kohli had been hoping to once again become the captain and that was part of the key reasons why he went ahead and played the Ranji Trophy match for Delhi against Railways, as directed by the BCCI.
IPL Resumes Amid Border Tensions With Spotlight on Virat Kohli
And while the IPL itself was paused due to the recent India-Pakistan border tensions, it will now resume on Saturday when Royal Challengers Bengaluru play host to Kolkata Knight Riders in an intense game where the limelight will strongly rest on Virat Kohli after his recent Test retirement.
The unplanned 10-day hiatus has left both the RCB and the KKR with diverse objectives to meet and shared hurdles to overcome.
The RCB are placed second on the table with 16 points from 11 games, and a victory here can take them to the playoffs.
KKR are placed sixth on the table with 11 points from 12 matches, and a blunder will put paid to the defending champions’ hopes of reaching the knockouts.
