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Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif<\/a> made a massive claim on Virat Kohli<\/a>‘s Test retirement amid the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies. The Men in Blue are hosting the Caribbean side for three ODIs and five T20Is.<\/p>\n Virat Kohli walked away from Test cricket after the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) down under. However, it was a controversial exit, with several experts and former cricketers expressing that it was early retirement despite a lean patch.<\/p>\n Mohammad Kaif reckoned that Kohli was unhappy with the environment and hence decided to make the shocking call. Kaif added that the veteran batter would certainly have bounced back had he not walked away at that point.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n “When I look at his interviews about this, I feel like there is some disappointment on his face. Even if his form was bad, you are talking about Virat Kohli. He has had bad phases in ODIs as well at times. It looks from his interviews that he was not happy with the environment. It seemed that he felt like he was not getting importance and backing and the people within had no faith in him. I still think if he would have continued, he would have definitely made a comeback. He is known for comebacks,” he said in a video <\/a>on his YouTube channel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Kohli made his Test debut in 2011 and played 123 matches, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 with 30 hundreds and 31 half-centuries. Kaif gave an example of how the veteran batter made a stellar comeback after scoring two back-to-back ducks during the Australia ODI series last year.<\/p>\n “If he had been removed after those two ducks in Australia, would we have been able to praise him or look at such knocks from him now? I can understand if it is a new player. But this is Virat Kohli. You cannot apply the same things to him as you do to others. Your form will go bad. No one is a machine or this is not a video game.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Virat Kohli slammed an unbeaten 139 in the first game of the ongoing West Indies series. In his last 11 ODI innings, he has scored four hundreds and five half-centuries.<\/p>\n In the same video, Mohammad Kaif also opined on Virat Kohli’s future. Before the West Indies<\/a> series began, Kohli stated that the 2027 World Cup would be his last World Cup for India, which essentially means it could also be the last time he would be seen playing international cricket.<\/p>\n However, Kaif had an interesting take. He reckoned that given how Kohli’s form and consistency is, the selectors and decision makers at that time might ask him to continue playing beyond the World Cup<\/a>. Kaif also added how Kohli’s presence in the team would benefit a young captain like Shubman Gill<\/a>.<\/p>\n “He is going to play only till the World Cup is what he said. The way he is playing, he will get close to 100 hundreds. But when the World Cup happens, people who take a call on his future might end up telling him not to go as he would be in solid form. They would ask him to stay. This could also happen. I feel it will be his last World Cup but he can also play beyond that. He is fit and scoring runs. This will benefit Gill who is a young captain. Look at the bowling, Gill is facing a tough time there due to the lack of senior players. The longer Kohli stays, it will be better for Gill as a captain and for India overall that way,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In 315 ODIs so far, Kohli has scored 15080 runs at an average of 59.13 with 55 hundreds and 79 fifties. It remains to be seen how much more he can add to the tally.<\/p>\nMohammad Kaif on Virat Kohli’s future<\/h2>\n