Kapil Dev believes Virat Kohli still possesses enough quality for Test cricket today
New Delhi
Former India captain Kapil Dev believes Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket earlier than necessary, saying the batting great still had the ability to excel in the longest format and should not have made such a significant decision in the heat of the moment.
Kohli surprised the cricketing world in May 2025 by announcing his retirement from Test cricket, ending a distinguished red-ball career just 770 runs short of the 10,000-run milestone. His decision came shortly before India’s squad for the England tour was announced and less than a week after Rohit Sharma also stepped away from Test cricket.
Kapil said he was disappointed that Kohli chose to retire while he was still capable of performing at the highest level.
“It is not about 10,000 runs,” Kapil said. “I felt that if, for six months, he had not let himself get carried away by anger and had given himself another chance to play for India, because once you stop playing for India, you do not get that opportunity again.”
Kapil stressed that players should avoid making career-defining decisions during periods of frustration, whether arising from selection issues or differences with team management. He pointed to former India cricketers such as Mohinder Amarnath and Anshuman Gaekwad, who responded to setbacks by returning to domestic cricket and forcing their way back into the national side through strong performances.
“He must have had his own thought process, and rightly so. But from the outside, we feel he still had time,” Kapil said, adding that hard work and consistent run-scoring could have reopened the doors to the Indian team.
Kohli had earlier explained that he retired because he no longer wanted to play in an environment where he constantly felt the need to prove himself despite his achievements. However, Kapil believes the former captain still possesses the skill and temperament required for Test cricket.
The 1983 World Cup-winning captain also compared Kohli’s fiery on-field personality to that of tennis legend John McEnroe, saying aggression often brought the best out of him.
“When I look at Virat, he reminds me of John McEnroe because, until he fought, he could not produce his best performances,” Kapil said.
Kapil contrasted Kohli’s intense approach with the calmer demeanour of Indian batting greats Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, while acknowledging that different personalities succeed in different ways. He concluded that if Kohli’s competitive fire helped him perform at his peak, there was no reason to suppress it, even if it occasionally appeared excessive.
