SHOCKER: Virat Kohli walks away from Test cricket after rift with coach Gautam Gambhir

Virat Kohli followed skipper Rohit Sharma into the halls of retirement from Test cricket, leaving fans and the BCCI shell-shocked. In a social media post minus any rancour on Monday, the greatest Test captain India had decided enough is enough. He had written to the BCCI he did not want to continue and play in the Test series in England. Plans were made for Kohli to be spoken to, but the champion had decided he wanted peace not humiliation.

Indian cricket is a cesspool, beyond the boundary. For those who derive joy and happiness watching batters and bowlers produce magic, there are pulls and pushes which define the chaos. This is not the first time Kohli has been victimised, for it was former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly who had ensured he and coach Ravi Shastri would be eased out in 2022. The slime that Ganguly is, today he will say good things about Kohli.

Indian cricket has seen various stages, good, bad and ugly. There have been defining captains and eras, yet the way Kohli has been dealt with is shoddy. When Rohit Sharma announced in a social media post last week that he was quitting Test cricket, it was shocking. There is a genuine fear now, the BCCI is running the sport in an unprofessional way. For sheer experience and having been legends, R.Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and now Virat Kohli deserved farewells where they could  have been celebrated.

No, the BCCI has been acting funny. It is OK to accept President Roger Binny is a rubber stamp, but Devjit Saikia, the secretary, is more busy dealing with the IPL and resumption. If at all plans were there to speak to Kohli, it never worked. In his statement, Kohli signs out by being extremely emotional and talking about playing in whites. To say that he would even dive and dirty his jersey is no exaggeration. That is the kind of effort Kohli put into his game. As a legend, he showed what it is to instill discipline and make the cricketers believe in themselves. Sadly, once Kohli was eased out, he reconciled well to being just a team man to the core.

Not too short of 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Kohli’s 30 tons and 31 half tons are monumental. Sadly, people judged him by recent form and said he cannot play outside the off stump in Australia. It was sad to see Kohli getting trolled by media and social media. Now that three legends have gone, Ashwin, Rohit and Kohli, the BCCI will realise their mistakes. To have given coach Gautam Gambhir so much power is wrong. He is not a certified coach and what he did with KKR in IPL 2024 was nothing big.

India flopped in Australia and blame should go to Gambhir. If rebuilding the Indian Test side is the plan, it is agenda driven. Gambhir has been a vicious coach and the damage done will be realised later. Sadly, Kohli deserved a farewell, like Rohit.

From a fan perspective, Kohli quitting Test cricket is shocking. He was a complete player whose work ethic and fitness are top class. Kohli still puts a premium on performance and will ensure the team he guides, RCB, does well in the IPL.

Will Kohli play the ODIs and be around till the 2027 World Cup, nobody knows. Maybe, even the BCCI does not know. For those who say young Indian cricketers do not want to focus on Test cricket, see what the BCCI has done to the legends. If, after 123 Tests, Kohli is treated like a wastrel, it is sad. The BCCI may be rich and boast of massive bank balances. Goodwill for cricketers, it’s zero.

How does one deal with fans in shock? Well, the BCCI does not care.