No half measures for king Kohli

The curtain has finally come down on Virat Kohli's influential Test career, with the former Indian skipper hanging up his whites this week. Although his tour down under was far from a masterclass, many expected him to soldier on for the five-Test series in England and the busy home season to follow especially with just 800 runs separating him from the hallowed 10,000-run mark.

- BY REX CLEMENTINE

But perhaps the scars of Australia cut too deep and with the selectors subtly showing him the red light, Kohli may have been nudged toward the exit door.

Test cricket, that unforgiving school of hard knocks, doesn't grant longevity lightly. No matter how skilled or gritty you are, age starts bowling the tough questions - short of a length, rising awkwardly. In Kohli's case, the chinks were showing. The man who once drove with arrogance and flicked with disdain was now tentative, caught fishing outside off, a far cry from the front-foot aggressor of old. The writing, as they say, was on the dressing room wall.

When it comes to the Fab Four of modern-day Test batting, Kohli's name doesn't quite roll off the tongue with the same weight as Kane Williamson, Steve Smith or Joe Root. His average - sub-50 - tells a tale of a batsman who shone brighter under white lights and white balls. On flat tracks, he was a bully with the bat, feasting on bowlers like a shark in a goldfish tank. But red-ball cricket? That was a different kettle of fish.