Former India coach Ravi Shastri has said that mental burnout could be one of the reasons why Virat Kohli made his shocking retirment from Test cricket earlier this month. Shastri also stated that Virat had atleast 2 years of cricket left in him and should have also been handed the captaincy duties for India’s tour of England next month.
In his column for Sportstar, Shastri wrote, “I am sure Virat still had two years of Test cricket left in him. I would have loved to see him in England this summer. It would have been a good idea to hand him the captaincy for the tour, but he would know best why he decided to leave. Maybe mental fatigue drove him to decide because he was as fit as any other player on the team,”
Shastri further noted that mental burnout could be a decisive factor in Virat’s retirement call, given that he was as fit as most other players in the team.
“He knew his body best, but the mind would have played the decisive role. I will not rule out burnout as the decisive factor in curtailing his career at a critical phase of Indian cricket,” Shastri added.
Virat Kohli will walk away from cricket once done, says Shastri:
Shastri also stated that once Kohli is retired from ODIs as well, he will probably not be around cricket much either as a commentator or a coach.
“He is still around to serve Indian cricket in ODIs, but I also know that Virat will walk away from the game once he is done playing cricket. He is not the kind who would like to coach or take on the role of a broadcaster. I will miss him when India plays its first Test in England. He was a champion, and that is what I would like to remember — never conceding an inch.” the former India coach added.
Notably, Kohli himself in an exchange last year had hinted that once his time with cricket is done, he ‘will be gone’ and won’t be seen around for a while.
