Former wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa, who was part of the title-winning Indian side in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup, is the latest name to have asked ex-India skipper Virat Kohli to reverse his retirement from the longest format. Notably, Kolhi is currently active in only one format (ODIs) after calling it quits in T20Is after the T20 World Cup 2024 win and Tests ahead of the England Tests in July last year.
However, following India’s recent debacle at home where they suffered a 0-2 series whitewash against South Africa and their overall poor run in Tests, the calls for Kohli’s return in red-ball cricket have grown louder. Players like Kevin Pietersen and Navjot Singh Sidhu amongst others have spoken openly about it and now Robin Uthappa has done the same.
Taking to his account on X (formerly Twitter), Ashwin shared a photo of Kohli sweating it out in the nets and wrote,
“Them eyes tell u a story…Surely it’s time to rescind his test retirement. Would love to see him back in Test cricket.”
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Virat Kohli concluded his illustrious 14-year Test career with 30 centuries in 123 matches, solidifying his legacy as one of India’s greatest batsmen. He stands fourth on the all-time charts among Indian batters, only behind the legendary trio of Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122).
Retired with 9230 runs, his announcement at the time thus surprised many cricket fans and experts, especially since he was only 770 runs away from achieving the rare milestone of 10k Test runs.
Additionally, he is also India’s most successful Test captain, leading India to 40 victories in 68 matches, 13 more than the next-best MS Dhoni.
Despite such strong credentials, Kohli had struggled in Tests in his last few days, with just 185 runs in his last eight matches, with his average down to 26.4. Thus, rationally thinking, Kohli’s decision to call it quits in Test over ODIs makes sense, given that he wants to continue playing the format that he has dominated the most in his career.
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