Sanjay Bangar admits trying to convince Virat Kohli out of Test retirement

Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar revealed he tried to convince Virat Kohli against Test retirement. Bangar reckons there were still a few good years of Test cricket left in Kohli.

Bangar said Kohli was convinced about calling it a day as he has made up his mind about the decision. 

Kohli aggregated 9230 runs in 123 Test matches at an average of 46.85. The former Indian captain was known to take the bull by its horns and led from the front.

Kohli played an instrumental role in taking India’s Test team to new heights. Under Kohli’s leadership, Team India stayed at the top of the ICC Test rankings for 42 consecutive months.

Meanwhile, Bangar and Kohli worked together when the former was the batting coach of the Indian team and also when the former all-rounder was RCB’s coach. 

“It was a sad day for me personally. He was a giant of his era. I tried to reason with him – there were still a few good years of Test cricket left in him. But he had made up his mind. He was convinced about the timing, and once he made that decision, there was no going back. We must respect that,” Sanjay Bangar said on JioHotstar (via India Today).

Kohli is currently playing in the IPL, and he has amassed 505 runs in 11 innings for RCB, and thus, he has played a key role in the franchise’s success in the ongoing season. RCB has won eight games out of their 12 matches, with one game ending in a no-result.