Former England spinner Monty Panesar has made a bold statement on Virat Kohli’s sudden retirement from Test cricket weeks before the upcoming five-match Test series in England. He blamed Virat Kohli’s long-standing troubles outside the off-stump for his early Test retirement.
Panesar believes that Kohli, who once dominated the swinging conditions of England with a stunning comeback in 2018, might have felt the challenge had become too tough for him, and that’s why he decided to step away from the format before being dropped from India’s XI.
As India gears up for a high-profile Test series in England, Kohli's absence is leading the headlines, and the former spinner took a dig at the right-hander by saying that Kohli’s struggle to deal with the tricky fourth and fifth stump line would have been brutally exposed on England’s seaming pitches.
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Panesar pointed out that Kohli’s struggles with the moving ball have only intensified, especially in fast and bouncy conditions in Australia. And with the added pressure of age and fading reflexes, he feels Kohli may have decided it was time to retire and focus on IPL and ODI cricket.
Monty Panesar was quoted as saying by PTI, “With Kohli, what has happened is that against the ball outside the off stump, the fifth stump line, especially in Australia on fast, bouncy pitches, he was struggling. So, he probably thought maybe the fact that in England it is going to swing a lot more, he probably hasn't worked out solutions in that corridor of uncertainty. And I think that's probably been one of the reasons why he thought to retire and put all his energy into RCB and ODI cricket for India.”
Monty Panesar calls Virat Kohli a brilliant ambassador for Test cricket
Panesar further noted that Kohli has done very well in all three formats of the game, and he has been a brilliant ambassador for Test cricket. The former England spinner further said that the former Indian captain probably felt that he had done his best and achieved everything, so he decided to let the next generation take over.
Furthermore, the commentator feels it would have been tough for Virat Kohli to repeat his 2018 success in England in the upcoming Test series. He believes Kohli has struggled with balls outside the off-stump over the last year or so and hasn’t found a clear fix, and that’s one of the reasons behind his retirement.
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Monty Panesar hopes India will find the next superstar
Panesar signed off by saying, “It would be a lot tougher for Virat Kohli to repeat the same performances in 2018. Just the simple fact that he's been struggling over the last 12 to 18 months with that ball outside off stump. He hasn't got a solution for that, you know, the problem that he has on the fourth and fifth stumps. So he's thinking it's better for Indian cricket to give youngsters a go and hopefully find the next superstar.”
Apart from Kohli, Rohit Sharma also retired from Test cricket, and now Shubman Gill is all set to make his debut as Test captain in the upcoming Test series in England.
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