Indian football great Sunil Chhetri, who is also a close friend of Virat Kohli, shared his thoughts on Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket. Chhetri said that he wasn’t surprised by Kohli’s decision but is happy that he’s at peace. Several people not just from the cricketing fraternity but other sports as well reacted to Kohli’s Test retirement. Now, one of his great pals from football, Sunil Chhetri also shared his thoughts on his retirement from the longest format.
In his conversation with JioHotstar, Sunil Chhetri was asked whether he was surprised when he got the news of Virat Kohli’s retirement. To this, he replied with “I’m not actually surprised at the decision. But knowing that he’s at peace, I’m happy for him.”
“Knowing Virat, he must have taken a lot of time to call it off. Especially Test cricket. Even with my knowledge, I know and you know how much he loves playing Test matches. So, for him to call it a day, even at his peak, especially when you have fans who’ll urge him to keep playing for another year or so, it’s big. For him to call ‘Alvida’ to the format he loves the most, it must have been difficult for him,” Chhetri further added.
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If you look at his performance, there would be no need for Virat to retire: Sunil Chhetri
Speaking further, Sunil Chhetri said that there was no reason for Virat Kohli to retire from Test cricket based on his form. He also mentioned the importance of finding the balance between career and family in a sports person's life.
“After a point in time, you start questioning yourself about whether you’re maintaining a certain balance in life: with your sporting career and your family. That becomes important, asking yourself whether the sacrifice is worth it," Chhetri said.
“If you’re going to look at only performance as the factor for retirement, then there would be no need for Virat to retire now. Just look at the way he plays (in the IPL). The other day, when I went to watch RCB vs CSK, he was outstanding. He wanted to be on the field, and he wanted to win. So, there would be no reason for him to retire because of his performance." he further added.
