Virat Kohli: Too early or time to say goodbye to the red ball format?

[Titan24]

He is a LOI ATG without a doubt and overall definitely one of the greatest of his eras. However, the modern day cricket with leagues, three international formats definitely takes a lot out of you. So despite the increased fitness standards, if you are playing all three formats along with the leagues and have been doing so at international level for over a decade its naturally going to start taking its toll.

Virat has over 8000 test runs and averages close to 50. Even with good couple of good years in him he would find it difficult to get to the 10,000 runs mark before he is 36-37. In last 3 years he has averaged less than 30 in test cricket.

He loves red ball cricket so really minimal chance that he would even be considering this currently. However, to have more away time from cricket and to give himself few more productive years in LOIs this might be an idea worth thinking about.

Other option is to keep going like he is, hoping for the form to come back in (If its something to do with reflexes then they wont regenerate) but, non performance will keep on putting extra pressure on him and this he would have to carry that extra baggage irrespective of how mentally strong he is.

Whats your take?

 

[MenInG]

He is either a good batter, or he isn't.

Saying goodbye to red-ball cricket is an admission of failure in my view and a slap on faces of all those who thought he had greatness in him.

 

[Rana]

I think he should say goodbye to T20i first and then consider if he still wants to achieve something in ODIs, if not he should quit that format too.

No way should he retire from Test. I would rather he carries on playing and averaging 45-48 by the end of his career but he is a good batsman, and he will find his form by taking as much time as he can on the crease. Test cricket will allow this for him to happen at some point

 

[Ab Fan]

He needs to retire from T20Is probably after this World Cup in Australia. This will give him some time to focus on longer formats(Tests and ODIs). Post that just keep going like this and look to fix issues that are there and get back to the best of the form.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

He is either a good batter, or he isn't.

Saying goodbye to red-ball cricket is an admission of failure in my view and a slap on faces of all those who thought he had greatness in him.

Agreed. It's a coward's way out. If someone like Jos Buttler did this you would understand. Because he has never been a great red-ball cricketer. But it wasn't that long ago when Kohli was considered the best all-format batter in the world.

He either needs to find a way out of this slump or retire completely.

 

[Zain]

Too early to say bye to test cricket, if he does his legacy will not be as great as we once thought. Tendulkar will still be the daddy of Indian cricket.

 

[Rana]

I think the problem is that the fans and the Media want Kohli to either be this Superstar, freak batsman who scores centuries for fun or they don’t want him at all.

Just let the guy carry on playing as this ordinary man/ player that he currently is. He is still better than lots of the so called good players coming through. Just let him be.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Too early to say bye to test cricket, if he does his legacy will not be as great as we once thought. Tendulkar will still be the daddy of Indian cricket.

Do you really think he can eclipse Tendulkar, or even Dravid at this point of his career?

 

[Titan24]

Saying good bye to T20Is is a fair suggestion but, it can also impact his market value in T20 cricket as a whole as well. He like any other would not want that pay check to get a big decline.

 

[Titan24]

He is either a good batter, or he isn't.

Saying goodbye to red-ball cricket is an admission of failure in my view and a slap on faces of all those who thought he had greatness in him.

Fair point but, things are not looking good considering age, form, captaincy going away and everything. A lot of pressure building as well. However, yes if he thinks he is still strong enough to get through this and then come back as a winner then he definitely should stay. Sometimes he just looks like someone who has tried everything currently but, nothing seems to work. Considering his class there will always be a chance of him starting to create impact again but, not enough time so has to turn it around quickly.

 

[introvert]

I think Whenever he retires he will retire from all formats including IPL altogether much like Ab de Villiers did instead of pick and choose formats.


Honestly I don't see kohli playing beyond 2023. He must be eying 2023 worldcup and other important overseas test series, 2023 IPL as his last events in cricket.

 

[Mamoon]

He should retire from T20Is after the upcoming WT20 and he should also retire from ODIs after the 2023 World Cup. He has achieved everything in these formats and he is not going to last until the 2027 World Cup, so there is no point of him playing these formats especially when India have plenty exciting young batsmen coming through in white ball formats.

Retiring from white ball cricket after 2023 World Cup will help him focus his energies on Test cricket.

The Indian top 3 of Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli is the greatest top three ever in ODI cricket, but the World Cup next year has to be their swan song. The fact that the World Cup is India makes it the perfect occasion for them to pass the torch to the next generation.

Retiring next year would most likely mean that Kohli will fall short of Tendulkar’s century tally in ODIs, but he should not chase records. He is better than that. Three years ago it seemed unthinkable that he would fall short because it seemed like he would breeze past that record, but if he doesn’t get there it is what it is.

His legacy and greatness will not be measured by these milestones only.

 

[Varun]

If I was Kohli:

1. Retire from T20s right away. Stop even the IPL - it's absolutely useless.
2. Plan an ODI retirement after the 2023 World Cup regardless of what happens.
3. Eke out every last mile from the test career, and no need to rest for any series.

 

[James]

If anything it should be red ball cricket that he plays for the longest. Perhaps shedding a format would help him, but not Tests and red ball.

 

[Stewie]

He should retire from ODIs immediately and play only in IPL, selective T20s and focus fully on tests.

Lets face it, there is no way any modern day cricketer will quite T20 and walk away from lucrative IPL deals, even ABDV continues to play IPL after retiring from international cricket. Thats the major money maker.

So lets be realistic. I think ODIs are probably the most useless and pointless format at the moment in the grand scheme of things. The bring zero value to cricketers and spectators. Bi lateral ODIs have been disappearing for a while and there will come a time when the world cups will suffer from low viewership as well because nobody likes to si through 50 overs thanks to T20.

 

[Rana]

He should retire from ODIs immediately and play only in IPL, selective T20s and focus fully on tests.

Lets face it, there is no way any modern day cricketer will quite T20 and walk away from lucrative IPL deals, even ABDV continues to play IPL after retiring from international cricket. Thats the major money maker.

So lets be realistic. I think ODIs are probably the most useless and pointless format at the moment in the grand scheme of things. The bring zero value to cricketers and spectators. Bi lateral ODIs have been disappearing for a while and there will come a time when the world cups will suffer from low viewership as well because nobody likes to si through 50 overs thanks to T20.

Kohli is one of the few blessed people in this sport who will have money following them no matter what. I don’t think he needs to prioritise avenues of maximising wealth at this point.

He is big enough to become a movie star in Bollywood post retirement if he wishes

 

[Stewie]

Kohli is one of the few blessed people in this sport who will have money following them no matter what. I don’t think he needs to prioritise avenues of maximising wealth at this point.

He is big enough to become a movie star in Bollywood post retirement if he wishes

Dude, they make millions in the IPL, that much wealth doesnt follow you just like that. Thats like saying Tom Cruise will still be a rich movie star if he stopped making action movies. Action movies are his big money makers. If he starts doing romantic comedies and dramas only, he will lose over 70% of his earnings.

 

[Rana]

Dude, they make millions in the IPL, that much wealth doesnt follow you just like that. Thats like saying Tom Cruise will still be a rich movie star if he stopped making action movies. Action movies are his big money makers. If he starts doing romantic comedies and dramas only, he will lose over 70% of his earnings.

Yes he won’t earn the big pay cheque from IPL and the sponsorship from MRF or other companies he endorses but I think he has amassed enough wealth as it is for him to not to worry about losing 75% of his yearly earnings during his cricket playing days.

VK can easily pursue a career in coaching if he likes (with India or IPL franchises)

He can go into commentary if he feels

He can go into Bollywood if he wants

He can become a full time politician and a very popular one if he thinks that’s a career he wants to go into

The sponsorships will not be as much but they will always be there at some level.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Most of the desi cricketers don't know when to call it quits. Most of them need a 'GPL' to realise that their time is up in international cricket. Virat Kohli is no different.

 

[dravidthewall]

He should retire from all forms of cricket

 

[Savak]

Don't think he needs to retire. I will watch what is to come from him one day for a time. If he is not performing, he needs to be dropped just like Pujara and Rahane. Enough of these double standards and getting picked purely on reputation, past performances and sponsorship, media, broadcasting, political, business pressures.

 

[Justcrazy]

In subcontinent its rare to see players retiring on high , they are usually kicked out or forced.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think he should be dropped.

If he gets his form back, he can be selected again. Shouldn't be an automatic selection.

 

[Firebat]

He should retire from white ball and focus on returning to some kind of form in Tests.

I don't agree with players retiring to be selfless. Kohli is not the captain nor coach nor chief selector, it's not his fault if he is selected. A player should retire when they feel they do not want to play anymore, but if the team management think he's not good enough they should drop him. They are separate matters.

For his own sake, he should become a Test specialist and salvage some form to go out on a high before he is dropped for bad form. At this rate he won't be in an Indian shirt come 2023.

 

[Hitman]

In subcontinent its rare to see players retiring on high , they are usually kicked out or forced.

Sunny Gavaskar retired on high.

 

[Ab Fan]

He should retire on high in my opinion rather than destroying his legacy by playing beyond expiry date.

 

[shaz619]

He is either a good batter, or he isn't.

Saying goodbye to red-ball cricket is an admission of failure in my view and a slap on faces of all those who thought he had greatness in him.

Those people deserve a slap in the face though

 

[shaz619]

Sunny Gavaskar retired on high.

Kohli will leave on the same high as the great Khali

 

[Mesozoic]

It's futile. He's way too arrogant , egotistical and delusional to retire from any format and indirectly admitting that he's done as a player in that particular format. That's just not how his brain works..

He will definitely play until the 2024 T20 WC in USA.... in all the formats.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

He should retire from T20 format.