India are staring at yet another embarrassing outcome possibly a second home whitewash in the space of a year and their batting collapse in Guwahati on Monday has triggered a daring assertion that the format Virat Kohli retired from was the wrong one. Following India getting bowled out for just 201 in the final Test against South Africa, former cricketer Sreevats Goswami posted on X that Kohli should have called it quits on ODIs, not Tests, as Test cricket desperately needs the intensity, hunger, and winning mentality he used to bring to this team.
“Ideally Virat should have left playing ODIs & continued playing test cricket untill he had nothing to give. Test cricket misses him. Not just as a player but just the energy he brought, the love & passion playing for 🇮🇳 where he made the team believe that they can win in any condition,” Goswami wrote.
Kohli had shocked fans back in May when he announced his retirement from Test cricket, a mere five days after Rohit Sharma had also called time on the format. Both had earlier ended their T20I careers following last year’s World Cup, leaving the ODI format as their only active arena. Kohli, who showed encouraging form with a half-century in Sydney last month, will now be eyeing a spot in India’s ODI plans for the lead-up to the 2027 World Cup as he returns for the three-match series against South Africa later this month.
In Guwahati, South Africa posted a commanding 489, thanks to Senuran Muthusamy’s maiden Test century and a rapid 93 off 91 balls from Marco Jansen. Jansen then dismantled India with a superb 6 for 48, leaving the hosts far behind.
With a huge advantage of 288 runs, South Africa did not enforce the follow-on, and folded Day 3 at 26 without loss. Having won the Kolkata Test by 30 runs, the visitors are on the threshold of their second ever Test series triumph in India-the first coming in 2000.
