Despite Forced Retirement, How Virat Kohli Remains Key in Indias Test Team

Virat Kohli, a former Indian Test captain, continues to draw attention even after retirement. With India playing a home Test against West Indies, Kohli fans show up wearing his Test jersey. Showcasing that, despite his retirement, Kohli's legacy lives on.

Virat Kohli has been India's greatest Test batsman of this generation. But his retirement from the biggest format of the game was unexpected. Just when fans thought they would watch him play in England one last time,

Even months after his retirement, Kohli fans await to see him on the field. As of now, India plays against the West Indies in a home Test. This is also the first Home test being played by the team after Kohli's retirement. Due to this reason, fans decided to show up in Kohli's Test jersey in the stadium.

1. Why Did Kohli Face Forced Retirement?

Virat Kohli, despite being the greatest Test batsman for India in this era, retired without any proper farewell. Several fans also claim that his retirement from this format was forced by the BCCI. Kohli looked confident ahead of the England tour, but announced his retirement before the same

Virat Kohli in the Test format:

• Innings: 210
• Not Out: 13
• Runs: 9230
• Average: 46.86
• Strike Rate: 55.57
• 100s: 30
• 50s: 31

Even with such phenomenal numbers, Kohli didn't cross the 10,000-run mark in this format. Virat Kohli didn't perform well in the Test series against Australia, scoring just one century throughout. Along with that, his struggles with the outside off-stump line continued. In the BGT 2024/25, he lost his wicket in every innings at the same line and length.

With his form dropping since the pandemic, he waited for a chance to come back. And for this, he had set his eyes on the India tour of England. But a few weeks before the squad announcement, Kohli announced his retirement via Instagram.

Some interviews and team talks also reveal that the officials wanted a new captain. Virat Kohli was seen as an option in this case, due to his dominant form as a captain in Tests. But the Head Coach and selectors insisted on having a long-term option. Due to this reason, they chose Shubman Gill.

2. Impact of Kohli on Test Cricket Viewership

While several fans do not agree on the same, it has been clear that Virat Kohli played a crucial role in reviving Test cricket in India. At a time when fans started to get bored of the same, Kohli brought a dominant Indian side. , as they used to see the aggressive side under Virat Kohli.

After the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli also played in the Ranji Trophy. This marked his return to the domestic format after several years. With Kohli playing for Delhi in this game, several fans visited the stadium. This was the highest recorded attendance across any of the domestic games that recently took place.

Virat Kohli was given a perfect retirement at his own home ground, but fans failed to notice. With him being retired from the Test format, the interest of the fans also seems to have disappeared. In the England series, most of the tickets were already sold before Kohli's retirement. But the series against West Indies shows his impact on Test viewership.

The Home Tests could than Ranji trophy games were never expected to. But, it is clear to the BCCI and Indian fans that Virat Kohli played a major role in reviving Test cricket in the nation.