Was Virat Kohli forced to retire from Tests? Former India captain opens up about past decisions, 2027 World Cup plans

Virat Kohli stunned his fans and the cricket world last year in May, when he announced his retirement from the Test format amid the IPL 2025 season.

The announcement came just a month before India were scheduled to tour England for a blockbuster five-match series in the summer and thus Kohli's retirement came as a shocker.

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The veteran batter, who has scored close to 10,000 Test runs in his 13-year-long red-ball career, last played for India, donning the white shirt in the away Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the previous winter

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Was Virat Kohli forced to retire from Tests?

There were speculations over Kohli's decision to quit Test cricket, however, the veteran star never really addressed the questions.

He even returned to action in international cricket in October 2025 and played three back-to-back ODI series against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

However, in a recent interaction with RCB media, Kohli said that he might have been forced to announce his retirement after repeatedly being criticised for his dwindling form in the longest format.

While Kohli did not specifically name anyone, fans insinuated that the veteran batter might have taken a dig at BCCI chief selector, Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.

The 37-year-old said: "You know, as I said today, my perspective is very clear. If I can add value to the environment that I'm a part of and the environment feels like I can add value, I'll be seen. That's a good question. Yeah. Right. If I'm made to feel like I need to prove my worth and my value. I'm not in that space because I'm being honest to my preparation. I'm being honest about how I approach the game.

"I put my head down. I work hard. I'm very thankful to God for giving me everything that I've been given in my cricketing career. and I feel very blessed and grateful for the opportunity. And when I arrive to play, I put my head down. I work as hard, if not harder than anyone else. And I play the game in the right way. You want me to run boundary to boundary for 40 overs in ODI game? I will do that without a complaint. Because I prepare accordingly. I prepare for the fact that I will field 50 overs every ball like it's the last ball I'm going to play in my career. And I will bat that way and I will run between the wickets that way and I will do everything possible for the team."

He then added: "After operating like this, if I have to be in a place where I have to prove my worth and value, that place is not meant to be for me. And I am very clear in my head from that perspective."