Follow UsOne of Virat Kohli’s go-to people and former India coach, Ravi Shastri, revealed that he did have a chat with Virat Kohli ahead of the latter’s Test retirement announcement. However, the former India all-rounder understood where Kohli was coming from and therefore did not dwell further into nudging him not to retire.
“I think his mind was very clear that he’d given us everything. There were no regrets. 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 was quoted as saying to The ICC Review.
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The captain-coach duo of Shastri and Kohli won 28 of the 40 Tests together, making the most successful captain-coach duo in Indian Test cricket history.
Shastri said that Kohli was always a 100 percenter and no matter when he took the field, he always wanted to be a part of every action on the ground. That might have led to burnout, according to the ace commentator.
“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.
“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,” Shastri added.
Shastri also said that since there was nothing left to achieve for Kohli as a player, he would have no regrets after retirement.
“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.”