NEW DELHI,: A probable lack of solution for his recurring struggles with the ball outside the off-stump prompted Virat Kohli to take retirement from Test cricket ahead of the England tour, feels former spinner Monty Panesar.
Panesar, who played 50 Tests and helped England to a rare Test series win in India back in 2012, reckons Kohli would have found it tougher to deal with the moving ball around the off-stump than his previous tours of England.
In 2018, Kohli had staged a stellar turnaround in England after a forgettable tour of 2014 when James Anderson got the better of him in the corridor of uncertainty.
“With Kohli, what has happened is that against the ball outside the off stump, the fifth stump line, especially in Australia on fast bouncy pitches he was struggling,” the left-arm spinner said.
“So he probably thought maybe the fact that in England it is going to swing a lot more, he’ll probably hasn’t worked out solutions in that corridor of uncertainty “And I think that’s probably been one of the reasons why he thought to retire and put all his energy with RCB and ODI cricket for India.”
Panesar said that Kohli had the answers to bounce back in 2018 but to do the same at this stage of his career would naturally be much tougher.
“I think he’s done very well as a cricketer in all formats. He has been a brilliant ambassador for Test cricket. He probably feels that he’s done his best, he’s achieved everything and probably feels like it’s time for the youngsters to step up.
“It would a lot tougher for Kohli to repeat the same performances in 2018. Just simple fact that he’s been struggling over the last 12 to 18 months with that ball outside off stump. He hasn’t got a solution for that, you know problem that he has on fourth and fifth stump.
“So he’s thinking it’s better for Indian cricket to give youngsters a go and hopefully find the next superstar,” said Panesar, who is commentating on the Saurashtra Pro T20 League.
Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket last month, leaving a huge void in the dressing room. Shubman Gill will captain the team in transition, starting with five Tests in England beginning on June 20.
