IPL Chairman Arun Singh Dhumal has urged Virat Kohli to reconsider his recent retirement from Test cricket, lauding his ever-improving fitness and comparing his commitment to cricket with Roger Federer’s and Novak Djokovic’s to tennis. Speaking on Sunday (June 1), Dhumal also said he was hoping that Kohli won’t retire from IPL, too, if Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) manage to win the IPL 2025 title.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that Kohli contacted the selection committee in April to inform them of his decision to retire from Test cricket. Kohli publicly announced it in May through a social media post, stating that the decision was difficult but ‘felt right’ as he had given his all to the format since his debut in 2011. India have moved on from him, too, announcing several new faces for the five-Test tour of England in June.
“Fitness that Virat has, he is probably fitter than he was in season 1,” Dhumal told PTI Videos in an interview. “I want Virat to continue playing even after RCB wins the trophy. The whole country would want Virat to continue, and I would want him to reconsider his decision to retire from Test Cricket. I hope that he doesn’t take retirement from IPL, he is the greatest ambassador for the sport. His commitment to cricket is equivalent to what Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic is to Tennis, so I want him to continue,” he added.
“Phenomenal season, we had a break in between, given how the momentum has come back, it has been phenomenal, RCB has already qualified and we are going to have a great final, We are now just two games away with one team lifting the trophy.” he said. “There is no discussion about expansion of IPL in terms of number of teams, we just added 2 teams three seasons back, there is enough time for that, the quality of IPL is very high,” he added.
RCB will play the final against the winner of the ongoing second Qualifier between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad.
