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Chris Gayle reflects on Virat Kohli’s early Test retirement, praising his impact on cricket and celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL triumph.
Virat Kohli along with his former teammates AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle celebrates with the IPL trophy (Picture credit: AFP)
Former West Indies cricketer and Royal Challengers Bengaluru legend Chris Gayle has said that ace India batter Virat Kohli took a very early retirement from Tests and the longest format will miss him. The latter’s Test retirement in May came as a shock, with just over a month left for India’s Test tour of England.
Kohli stepped away from Tests after playing 123 games, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 31 half-centuries and 30 hundreds.
Speaking on a podcast with Subhankar Mishra, released on Sunday, September 7, Gayle was asked whether Kohli retired too early from Tests.
“Oh yeah, very early. Very early. You know, for whatever reason, I do not know, but cricket will miss him 100%. Cricket will miss him. He is a massive, massive figure for the game of cricket,” Gayle said.
“I am just happy a guy like Virat lifted the trophy (IPL) as well, because you know there was so much talk here and there. We had been to a couple of finals together, so I was really overwhelmed to actually be a part of that RCB team, to lift the trophy,” Gayle said.
“And just as I am happy, I am sure AB was just as excited for RCB as well,” the former Windies cricketer added.
Rajat Patidar’s team beat the Punjab Kings in the final by just six runs, defending a total of 191.
“Those legends (Kohli and de Villiers), phenomenal players, phenomenal people as well. You know, very cool, very down-to-earth as well. Good vibes, good energy. I had a great time playing with these guys in the dressing room,” Gayle said.
“We had some great memories. We shared some great memories. So, you know, AB walked away from the game. Virat walked away from international cricket to an extent, still playing franchise cricket for RCB, which is good,” Gayle added.
September 08, 2025, 21:00 IST
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