BCCI desperate to convince Virat Kohli against Test retirement decision

In the latest update, it has been reported that the BCCI has assigned an "influential cricket figure" to convince Virat Kohli against his Test retirement plans. Early on Saturday morning, news broke about the senior Indian batter's wish to call it quits in the longer format. However, with Rohit Sharma already out of the scene, the BCCI does not want another senior player to leave the squad ahead of the next WTC cycle. The board has reportedly earnestly asked Kohli to reconsider his Test retirement plans. Moreover, before the 36-year-old finalizes his decision, the board has allegedly requested a prominent Indian personality from the cricket fraternity to speak to Virat Kohli.

BCCI asks an 'influential Indian figure' to talk to Virat Kohli amid Test retirement reports

Earlier on Thursday, May 7, Rohit Sharma announced his Test retirement. The announcement followed a report suggesting that the BCCI was looking to remove the 38-year-old from India's Test captaincy post ahead of the new WTC Cycle. Now, speculations are rife that Kohli's decision has come after the board refused him the chance to reclaim the team's captaincy in whites after the exit of Rohit Sharma. However, with these rumors rife, India will be in a precarious condition if put to kick-start the new WTC Cycle without any of the senior members.

Reportedly, the BCCI is eyeing Shubman Gill as the new captaincy prospect. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old batter would hope to get some guidance from the former captain if he earns the Indian Test captaincy ahead of the India Tour of England. The captaincy announcement is anticipated to arrive soon from the BCCI, with the India Tour of England slated to kick off the new WTC Cycle from June 20. The board, meanwhile, now awaits the final decision from Kohli, who was earlier requested to reconsider his decision. In the latest update, it has been reported that the BCCI has asked a prominent Indian cricket figure to counsel Kohli.

While Virat Kohli is going through a batting slump in red-ball cricket, he remains one of the most prolific batters for India in Tests. In 123 matches, Kohli has scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. At 36 years of age, Kohli remains just 770 runs away from piling up 10,000 Test runs. Until the latest slump observed in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli maintained an unmatched batting average, quoted above 50.00. Now, the board remains optimistic about the batter backtracking on his retirement decision.