Former India skipper Virat Kohli stunned the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from Test cricket on May 12, drawing an emotional response from his global fanbase. At just 36, the batting legend stepped away from his favorite format, leaving behind a legacy that few can match. While his recent form in red-ball cricket was not at its peak, many were caught off guard by the sudden decision.
Shubman Gill Shines, But Virat Kohli’s Absence Felt Deeply
With Kohli’s exit, Shubman Gill has taken over the critical No. 4 position and has risen to the challenge impressively. The 25-year-old is on track to be the leading run-getter in the five-match series, having accumulated 754 runs across 10 innings at an impressive average of 75.40. However, other batters like Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair have struggled to leave a mark.
As the fifth and final Test at The Oval nears its climax, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared his thoughts on social media, expressing how much the team missed Kohli’s leadership and skill during challenging moments.
“𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 @𝒊𝒎𝑽𝒌𝒐𝒉𝒍𝒊 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉,” 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑿 (𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓).
“𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕? 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖!” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Series Hangs in the Balance
As the fifth Test heads into its final day, India requires just four wickets to seal a win, while England needs 35 more runs to clinch the series 3-1. The tension is high, and fans can’t help but wonder what difference Virat Kohli’s presence might have made in such a crucial encounter.
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