‘Motive is noble, timing, occasion not appropriate’: Sidhu urges Virat not to retire from Test cricket

NEW DELHI: Former Indian cricketer Navjyot Singh Sidhu urged star Indian batter Virat Kohli to not call it quits in Test cricket, saying that while his “motive is noble”, the “timing and occasion are not appropriate” as the two-time ICC World Test Championship runners-up face a tough challenge from England away from home.

Virat has communicated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his intention to retire from Test cricket, reported ESPNCricinfo on Saturday. This report comes just two days after batter and his long-time teammate Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from whites and just over a month before India kickstarts its ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign against England with a five-match series, starting at Headingley from June 20 onwards.

Speaking on his video on Instagram, Sidhu said that Virat’s decision has “created a stir” in the cricketing world as India faces its “toughest litmus test” against England. He questioned if Virat, with all his experience, could be India’s “knight in shining armor” in England?

“Virat Kohli’s decision — that he wants to retire — has created a stir across the cricketing world. We are heading into a tour that is the toughest litmus test even for other Test-playing nations. Why do I say that Kohli can be our “knight in shining armor” in England? Because he has the experience, especially after Rohit Sharma’s departure. You can’t send an inexperienced side to England,” said Sidhu.

“His intention is right, his motive is noble — that “the old order must change, yielding place to the new.” But the timing and occasion are not appropriate, because the pride and prestige of India are on the line,” he added.
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As per ESPNCricinfo, Virat has been having such conversations with the board over the past month or so. If Virat indeed retires, it would mark the end of an illustrious Test career of 14 years, during which he made 9,230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries.

He is also India’s most successful Test captain ever, having won 40 out of 68 Tests with the armband.

During 2016-2019, Virat enjoyed one of the biggest primes in longest format history, with 4,208 runs to his name in 43 Tests at an average of 66.79, scoring 16 centuries and 10 fifties in 69 innings, making him one of the biggest ambassadors of the format.

However, the decade of the 2020s has not been great for the superstar batter, having made just 2,028 runs in 39 Tests at an underwhelming average of 30.72, with just three centuries and nine fifties to show in 69 innings. His numbers received a boost from a fine 2023, where he made 671 runs in eight Tests at an average of 55.91, with two centuries and two fifties in 12 innings.

He ended last year with just 382 runs in 10 Tests at a shocking average of 22.47, with just one century and fifty in 19 innings. His last Test outing was the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia from November-January, where he made just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75, with his century at Perth being a highlight. That century was his first since July 2023, when he hit a ton against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 2023.

Also, he is yet to hit a home century since his century against Australia in early 2023 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Ahmedabad.

Despite the downward curve of his form, it is understood that the team management and selectors want his experience for the England tour, where India is playing under a new skipper after Rohit announced his retirement. Young batter Shubman Gill is the top contender for the captaincy armband.

While England was a country where Virat first experienced a major setback during his 2014 Tour, scoring just 134 runs in 10 innings and continuously losing his wicket to pacer James Anderson, it was the 2018 tour which marks Virat’s peak in England, having topped the run-charts with 593 runs at an average of 59.30, with two centuries and three fifties.

In the 2021 England tour, Virat made 249 runs in five matches at an average of 27.66, with two fifties in nine innings. Virat has played 17 Tests in England, scoring 1,096 runs at an average of 33.21, with two centuries and five fifties in 33 innings and the best score of 149. (ANI)