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Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers termed Virat Kohli’s shock retirement from Test cricket as a ‘huge blow’ for the cricketing fraternity while also drawing parallels with his own career, which ended quite abruptly.
“I know it was a huge blow for all cricketing fans, including myself, but then very quickly, almost in the same instance that comes to mind that you know what, as long as he’s happy,” De Villiers said on BBC’s Stumped Podcast.
The explosive batter and Kohli shared a great camaraderie for a decade at Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru, before De Villiers called time on his T20 career in 2021.
However, he had already retired from Tests in 2018 at the age of 34. De Villiers believes Kohli’s decision to retire from Test cricket would have stemmed from a similar ‘gut feeling’.
“I was struggling through the last few years of my career, still enjoying the game, but there were moments where I was really fighting this feeling that I had in my gut, and that’s what comes to mind when I think of him—there must have been that,” he added.
Kohli hung up his boots from Tests at the age of 36, having scored 9,230 runs in the format at an average of 46.85. Despite a prolific career, Kohli suffered a significant dip in form, averaging under 30 in five of his last six years in Test cricket.
On the other hand, the South African went out on a high, having averaged in surplus of 50 in his last two years, and was ranked sixth in the ICC Test rankings for batters at the time of his retirement.
