"I`m gutted we won`t see Virat Kohli in England this summer": Michael Vaughan

Team India stalwart Virat Kohli recently announced his retirement from the longest format of the game. Following his retirement, former England skipper Michael Vaughan expressed disappointment by saying, “gutted, shocked and sad”.

The former cricketer also said that he has not seen anyone doing more for Test cricket than Virat.

“There are not too many Test retirements where I am left genuinely disappointed that I won`t watch a cricketer play again. But I`m gutted we won`t see Virat Kohli in England this summer or in whites any more. I`m shocked that he`s retiring now, and I`m also quite sad about it. In my time involved in the game, stretching back more than 30 years, I don`t believe there is any individual who has done more for the Test format than Virat,” Vaughan wrote in his column for the Telegraph.

Featuring in 123 Test matches, Virat Kohli has scored 9,230 runs with an average of 46.85. The veteran also had 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries to his name in the format.

The 36-year-old also led India to 40 Test wins out of 68 matches. With this, he also stands as the most successful Test captain for India.

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Speaking further, Vaughan was worried India was losing interest in Test cricket, and Kohli was the one who brought the love back to the format. The Test cricket would have been a far blander place without Kohli.

“When he took the captaincy just over a decade ago, I was worried India was losing interest in Test cricket. MS Dhoni was one of the great white-ball players but it felt like he captained a Test team who did not love the format. The game needs India to be madly in love with Test cricket, and that is what Virat fostered as captain,” said the 50-year-old.

“His passion, skill, and the way he talked about Test cricket always being the pinnacle has been a huge shot in the arm for the format. Test cricket would have been a far blander place without him, and there is a chance it would have lost its appeal if he had not been as interested and invested in it.” Vaughan described Kohli as the greatest player across all formats and called his retirement a blow to Test cricket. “His retirement now is a blow to Test cricket and very disappointing for fans, not least in England this summer but my belief is that he has helped forge a love for the format among the generation that will follow him, and kept the flame burning,” wrote the former opening batter.

“It`s impossible to compare across every era, but if you look at since T20 came in around 20 years ago, he is almost certainly the greatest player when you consider all three formats”.

The former English cricketer then feels that Virat Kohli`s ego isn`t as big as it has been made out to be.

“All great players have egos, but maybe Virat`s wasn`t quite as big as we thought. Perhaps family life has mellowed him a bit, and he just wants as normal a life as he possibly can, which is probably going to be in London, where he spends a lot of time now. Those outside that bubble really can`t imagine what it`s like being a Kohli or a Sachin Tendulkar, with the pressure of billions of adoring fans on your shoulders,” concluded Vaughan.

(With PTI Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day