“It didn’t allow him to function in the environment” - Former cricketer’s huge statement on Virat Kohli’s retirement amid ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former England opener Nick Compton believes a mismatch between the current Indian side and Virat Kohli's methods could have led to the ace batter's Test retirement ahead of the UK tour. The 36-year-old stunned the cricketing world by announcing his red-ball retirement through his social media handle a month before the ongoing England series.

Kohli finished as India's fourth all-time leading run-scorer in Tests with 9,230 runs at an average of almost 47 in 123 matches. His 30 Test centuries were also fourth all-time among Indian batters.

Talking about Kohli's sudden Test retirement in a conversation with Revsportz, Compton said:

"I’ve heard that the newer Indian setup has its own methods – maybe it didn’t allow him to function in the environment he preferred. Sometimes, new regimes want complete control, and that may not have suited someone like Kohli."

He added:

"It’s nearly impossible to stay equally hungry for all formats. Maybe the management could’ve helped him by managing his workload better, giving him time off. I don’t know what internal conversations were had, but I would’ve liked to see him play another two years."

Batting aside, Kohli was also India's most successful Test captain, helping the side to 40 wins in 68 matches at the helm. Under him, Team India won their first-ever Test series in Australia in 2018/19.

"Maybe there’s a swansong still to come" - Nick Compton on Virat Kohli

Nick Compton believes a surprising return to Test cricket could still be on the cards for Virat Kohli. Team India have performed admirably in their first series without the champion batter in the ongoing England series.

Yet, they still trail 1-2 after four Tests, with the series finale to be played at the Oval, starting July 31.

"I thought he’d definitely chase down 10,000 Test runs. Maybe we haven’t seen the last of him. Maybe there’s a swansong still to come," said Compton.

Despite his sensational overall Test record, Virat Kohli was in the middle of a torrid run in the long format in the 2024/25 season. The veteran batter averaged a dismal 22.47 in his last 10 Tests with a lone century in 19 innings as India suffered back-to-back series losses to New Zealand and Australia.

Just a week before Kohli called it quits from Test cricket, the then-skipper Rohit Sharma also walked away from the format.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran