It won’t be an overstatement to say that if Virat Kohli failed in the entire ICC Champions Trophy, the questions for his place in the side would’ve surely amped up. After all, the pressure was mounting on him. The modern-day great had his career-worst year (2024), averaging a mere 21.83 across formats. But Kohli, like he always does, stepped up for the nation when it mattered the most. The run-machine hammered his 82nd international century to help India beat Pakistan at the ICC Champions Trophy group stage match. Now, at least the rumours of his retirement can finally take a pause. Talking about Kohli’s retirement, there has been a comment by the Royal Challenger Bengaluru’s (RCB) former Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson.
What did Mike Hesson say about Virat Kohli’s retirement?
Talking to Cricbuzz, Hesson was asked about Virat Kohli’s future in Indian cricket. Considering he will touch 37 later this year, there’d surely be some tactical planning. However, Hesson had only one thing to say—Kohli knows where he is and nobody will know when to stop earlier than him.
“Whenever one starts to question him, Virat puts out a performance like he did last night. Virat will decide; he’ll be the first one to know whether he’s lost that desire to keep getting better or whether he’s lost the movement, like not picking up the ball as quickly as he used to. He’ll be the first to know that. I know Virat won’t hang on longer than he needs to. He will stay as long as he knows he can contribute to Indian cricket. And at the moment, he certainly is.”
Virat Kohli hits straps, hammers century vs Pakistan
Virat Kohli had just one fifty to his name in the last 90 days or so. That fifty was also a scratchy knock against England in the 3rd ODI in Ahmedabad. In between, he played 12 innings, including a one-off appearance for Delhi at the Ranji Trophy. However, Kohli buried the ghost of his poor form and came up with a magnificent century in a high-octane India-Pakistan clash. Speaking about the innings, Hesson dubbed it as a “masterful chase.”
“Virat continues to do it, doesn’t he? Whenever people start to question whether it might be, you know, nearing the end, he just reminds us why he averages 58 in ODI cricket. I guess last night was just another example of a masterful chase in a pressure cooker environment. You wouldn’t expect anything less from a player like Virat.”
Talking about Mike Hesson, the New Zealander was with the RCB franchise from 2019 to 2023. Under him, RCB qualified for the playoffs thrice but couldn’t touch the elusive trophy. Notably, it was under Hesson’s watch when Kohli decided to step away from captaincy in 2021.
