Virat Kohli told BCCI of Test retirement weeks before announcement, wanted time with family: Report

Virat Kohli shocked the cricketing world on Monday as he made his decision to retire from Test cricket official. The veteran batter has been a longstay in the Indian red ball team for over a decade and coming just after skipper Rohit Sharma's similar decision, it leaves the Indian team to tour England next month in the hands of inexperienced young talent. 

A new report by the Indian Express has revealed that Virat Kohli had informed the BCCI and Indian selectors about his decision to retire from Test cricket last month and was also asked to think on that call for a few days.

Virat Kohli's retirement timeline: 

Reportedly, Virat Kohli sent a text to Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar in the first week of April, stating his intention to retire from Test cricket while continuing to play in India's ODI cricket.

BCCI was reportedly not ready for such a decision by the veteran batsman, given the upcoming five-match Test series against England. The Indian board and Agarkar are said to have advised Kohli not to make any hasty decisions and to give the matter some more thought.

However, Kohli is said to have made up his mind by then, and BCCI functionaries understood that there was no going back.

On 7 May, Kohli reached out to the BCCI again, stating that he wanted to announce his retirement on social media. The BCCI officials told him to wait a few days before making the announcement, as Operation Sindoor and the conflict with Pakistan were ongoing.

Following the ceasefire, Kohli informed the BCCI and the Indian selectors that he was going to announce his retirement.

While there are a lot of rumours on social media about why Kohli may have announced his retirement, the report claims that the main reason for his decision was to spend more time with his family, which was becoming increasingly difficult due to the BCCI's new family policy.

At a RCB Innovation Lab summit, Kohli had also spoken about the importance of having family on tours, stating: “The role of family is very difficult to explain to people… how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the outside,” 

“I don’t think people have an understanding of what value it brings.” Kohli said, adding that having the family around helps a player recover from on-field disappointments quicker.” he added