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Days after star India batter, Virat Kohli announced retirement from Test cricket, former Australia cricketer, Greg Chappell opened up on the reason behind the 36-year-old’s shocking move. Chappell, who has worked with Kohli as he served as the Indian cricket team’s coach from 2005 till 2007, stated that lack of mental clarity led him to make this call.
Writing in his column on ESPNcricinfo, Chappell informed that Kohli’s decision did not come seeing his poor run with bat, but mental clarity. It is to be noted that on Monday, May 12, just days after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket, Cirat Kohli also put down curtains on his career in the longest format. However, he was reportedly approached by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to overturn his decision, he did not overturn it.
Virat Kohli's Test retirement was driven by mental fatigue, not of diminished skill: Chappell
In his column, Greg Chappell stated, "His decision was not born of diminished skill, but from the growing realisation that he could no longer summon the mental clarity that had once made him so formidable. He accepted that, at the highest level, unless the mind is sharp and decisive, the body falters.”
Furthermore, the fomer Aussie cricketer elaborated on how lack of mental clarity can affect decision-making and to certain limit also hamper the footwork at the crease. "When doubt begins to settle in the bones, it disrupts decision-making, impairs footwork, and erodes the spontaneity essential to elite performance. Kohli's retirement is a reminder that form is more a function of the mind than it is of mechanics," Chappell added.
It is to be noted that Kohli retired after featuring in 123 Tests with his last appearance coming against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He amassed 9230 rins at an average of 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 fifty-plus knocks. Moreover, his Test career saw his average drop strikingly, from 54.97 to 46.85.
