Virat Kohli Wanted To Retire On May 7, BCCI Told Him To Wait Due To Operation Sindoor: Report

Virat Kohli's Test career ended on Monday. With an emotional message on Instagram, the former Indian cricket team captain brought down the curtains on an illustrious Test cricket career that saw him scale many peaks. Virat Kohli ended his Test career on 9230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85. Now, Virat Kohli will only be playing in the ODIs, after having retired from the T20I format post India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. 

The star batter's retirement comes close on the heels of Rohit Sharma's retirement on May 7. If a report in The Indian Express is to be believed, Virat Kohli wanted to declare his retirement on that same day through social media. However, according to the report, Kohli was "advised to wait for a few days before making his statement public, as Operation Sindoor and the military conflict with Pakistan were in full swing."

After the ceasefire was announced between India and Pakistan on Saturday (May 10), the report says Kohli told the BCCI and selectors that he was would soon make his decision public and on Monday, announced his retirement from Tests.  The desire to spend more time with his family is a key factor behind the decision, the report added. In the last one year, Kohli has often flown to England to be with his wife and actor Anushka Sharma, daughter Vamika and son Akaay. 

After India's 1-3 loss to Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, the BCCI sent a directive restricting the number of days family members would be allowed with the squad. Kohli was apparently not happy with the decision. 

"The role of family is very difficult to explain to people. How grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the