Bengaluru: Fans of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli holds a large banner in his honour after he recently announced retirement from the test cricket, as spectators leave after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

Earlier this week Virat Kohli dropped a bombshell after pulling plug on his Test career. Virat Kohli’s sudden retirement from the Test cricket has had a mixed reactions from the former cricketers and coaches.Former India coach Ravi Shastri in his podcast with ICC has mentioned that former India captain was “mentally fried.” Sanjay Bangar, former India opener and batting coach, who shares a close bond with Kohli has revealed how tried to reason with star batter and his long emotional post about quitting Test cricket left him sad.

“It was a sad day for me personally. He was a giant of his era. I tried to reason with him – there were still a few good years of Test cricket left in him. But he had made up his mind. He was convinced about the timing, and once he made that decision, there was no going back,” Bangar said on JioHotstar.“We must respect that. In our country, letting go is not always appreciated, but Virat chose the right moment. He retired when people were still asking ‘why now?’ – and that’s often the hallmark of a great sportsman,” he added.Who’s that IPL player?Virat’s 14-year journey in the whites transformed India into a result-producing machine. He infused aggression and the culture of fitness into a team riddled with youth and experience.In a career that redefined the demands of the game, Virat scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties, and finished as India’s fourth-highest run-getter in the format.