Manjrekar's Sadness: Kohli's Test Exit While Root, Smith, Williamson Thrive

Speaking on Kohli's retirement, Manjrekar admitted on his official Instagram handle that the decision has left him with a sense of sadness, especially when he sees players like Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson performing consistently in Test cricket.

"Well, as Joe Root attains new heights in Test cricket, my mind goes to Virat Kohli. He's walked away from Test Cricket, and it's unfortunate that in the five years that he struggled before retiring, that he didn't quite put his heart and soul into finding out the problems as to why he was averaging 31 for five years in Test Cricket. That is for another time as to what he could have done," Manjrekar said.

The former India batter pointed out that Kohli, despite his struggles in Test cricket in recent years, still had the fitness and hunger to attempt a comeback. Manjrekar felt that Kohli could have explored more avenues to regain form before calling time on his Test career.

"I just feel sad that people like Joe Root and Steve Smith, Kane Williamson are really making a name for themselves in Test Cricket. It was okay, Virat Kohli just walked away from cricket, retired from all cricket. But that he's chosen to play one day cricket actually disappoints me more, because this is a format which for a top-order batter, I've said before as well, is the easiest format," he added.

Manjrekar further emphasised that Test cricket remains the ultimate challenge for a batter, and Kohli's physical fitness could have allowed him to continue competing at the highest level.

"The format that really tests you is first, obviously, Test Cricket, and T20 cricket has its different challenges. The other thing is because he's so fit, supremely fit, you feel even more that he could have maybe continued his fight, you know, to get back into form, even if he was left out of a series, he could have maybe gone down to first-class cricket, played in Australia, England, more matches in India, tried to make another comeback. That could have made me truly happy," Manjrekar explained.

While acknowledging that the final decision rests with the player, Manjrekar admitted that Kohli's absence from Test cricket continues to bother him whenever he watches the modern greats excel.

"Obviously, that's his call, his choice but yeah, when Joe Root gets hundreds or gets runs, or Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, my mind goes to Virat Kohli with a sense of disappointment and a little bit of sadness, because he cared so much for Test Cricket, didn't he?" he concluded.

Virat's 14-year journey in the whites 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.

- ANI