Aakash Chopra opens up on Virat Kohli’s retirement, says maybe it was mental burnout

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli might have retired after experiencing mental burnout. Chopra highlighted that Kohli played the game with high intensity and he might have felt that he can not continue in similar fashion.

Kohli amassed 9230 runs in 123 Test matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries. The Indian veteran always gave his 120% on the field and played a key role in the team’s success over the years.

“He played Test cricket with the intensity of T20s. He ran a marathon at the speed of a sprint and kept running, and that is absolutely insane. As a batter, you can put all your effort into fielding, but he used to run all over the ground, celebrate every wicket, lift someone, or make someone fall,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

Kohli was also known to drive the crowd behind his team in the red-ball version.

“If not, he was messing with the crowd and driving them. This is mad intensity. It’s one of its kind. We won’t get to see such intensity again, nor did we find it before him. I remember VVS Laxman saying that Virat has many good things, but he fears that intensity might burn out. So maybe it was a mental burnout, that he cannot do this for five days anymore,” he added.

The renowned commentator said there won’t be a player like Virat Kohli as he found success in all three formats of the game with great consistency. 

“There will never be another player like Virat Kohli. He is a three-format master. Where do you get three-format masters now? If you see the Fab Four, none of them is playing all three formats well. If you see the upcoming generation, you see that someone is good in one format, but not in the other,” he said.

“You have anyway started making format-specific teams, and going forward, it will happen a lot more. Virat Kohli has captained and scored runs in T20s. He has the status of the best ever in ODI cricket, and has scored more than 9000 runs in Test cricket. You won’t find such dominance. I think he is the last of this generation,” Chopra observed.

Kohli will be seen in action in IPL 2025, which will resume on May 17.