Virat Kohli tells BCCI he wants to retire from Test cricket

Virat Kohli has told the Indian cricket board that he wishes to retire from Test cricket, but top officials have asked him to reconsider the decision, The Indian Express reported. 

 

"He has made up his mind and has informed the board that he is moving on from Test cricket. The BCCI has urged him to rethink as the crucial England tour is coming up. He is yet to revert on the request,” sources told this newspaper.

 

Kohli’s decision comes on the back of Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement a couple of days ago. India’s selectors are set to meet in a few days to pick the team for the five-Test series in England next month.

 

It is learnt that Kohli has been contemplating his Test future since the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia earlier this year when he went through a lean run after scoring a century in the first Test.

 

If Kohli doesn’t change his mind, and with Rohit out of the picture, it will leave India with a largely inexperienced middle-order to join forces with KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, and Rishabh Pant later down the order.

 

The 36-year-old Kohli has played 123 Tests for India and has scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85. His average dipped in the last five years, aggregating 1,990 runs in 37 games with three hundreds.