Rohit, Virat Retirement: A fairytale novella in Test cricket comes to a close

INDIAN cricket was dealt with twin blows recently with the back-to-back retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket.

- By Harvinder Ahuja

But it was the latter's announcement to retire that took the entire country by storm and became the most-debated topic in cricketing circles.

The reason behind this was not the mere fact that Virat had scored 30 centuries and has 9,200odd Test runs to his credit, but the sheer impact which he made for Team India. His aggressive all-out attacking style was an almost antithesis to Tests, where patience and grit hold the key. He singlehandedly rewrote the tenants of Test cricket with his abrasive and shot-making.

In terms of sheer impact, Virat perhaps had a much bigger role for Team India in Tests than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar despite the latter having scored more runs and hit more centuries. He brought such intensity to the game, that there were moments that one felt he would self-combust. Each and every run he scored was dipped in such intense ferocity that it gave sleepless nights to rival teams.