Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 26 : Former Australia cricketer Steve Waugh believes it was "courageous" of India stalwart Virat Kohli to bid adieu to Test cricket, considering it is not easy to "walk away" from the format.
On May 12, the world stood in silence after Virat announced his decision to retire from Tests more than a month before the five gruelling Tests in England, scheduled to begin on June 20.
Virat's decision came days after his long-time compatriot Rohit Sharma brought the curtain down on his memorable adventures in the whites.
Waugh believes such a transition is bound to happen in a team, considering "great players" can't continue forever. While many felt Virat had enough left in his tank to continue in the red-ball format, Waugh believes his decision showed signs of courage.
"Well, it's obviously a change in the team. That happens in every team. There are cycles. Great players can't go on forever. I think it's courageous that Virat made that decision. It's not easy to walk away from Test cricket. He's been a legend of the game and Rohit as well," Waugh told ANI.
Virat's retirement from red-ball cricket marked the continuation of the retirement of big names from the Test format in the Indian setup. Before the Indian batting bigwigs, the illustrious frontline off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin called it a day on his international career midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
The 36-year-old's 14-year journey in the longest format of cricket transformed India into a result-producing machine. He infused aggression and the culture of fitness into a team riddled with youth and experience.
In a career that redefined the demands of the game, Virat scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties, and finished as India's fourth-highest run-getter in the format. Meanwhile, Rohit concluded his red-ball career with 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57, 12 centuries, and 18 half-centuries in 67 Tests.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor