Suresh Raina Urges Virat Kohli To 'Unretire' From T20Is
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina believes Virat Kohli retired too early from T20Is, stating that he could have easily played until the 2026 T20 World Cup in the subcontinent. His comments came after Kohli's brilliant 42-ball 70 against Rajasthan Royals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Kohli retired from T20Is after India’s title-winning campaign at the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados, signing off with a match winning knock in the decider.
The Indian team is gearing up to defend their title next year on home soil, but will do so without the experienced trio of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, relying on a young squad.
“I still think that Virat Kohli retired early from T20I cricket. He could have played until 2026, based on the rhythm with which he is playing right now, and the rhythm during the 2025 Champions Trophy as well," Raina stated while speaking on Star Sports.
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After securing the Orange Cap for the second time in his career during IPL 2024, Virat Kohli remains in the race for the said cap again this year. Following a tough 11-run win over Rajasthan at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, Kohli appreciated the batting unit for their performance.
Sent into bat, Kohli played a fluent knock of 70 off 42 balls, forming a crucial 95-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal (50 off 27) for the second wicket. A late surge lifted Bengaluru to a total of 205/5.
In reply, Rajasthan Royals were cruising at 110/2, but Bengaluru tightened their grip, restricting them to 194/9. Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood delivered a match-winning performance with figures of 4/33.
“Look, we’ve had three pretty average games at home and we discussed a few things we need to get right as a batting unit and we applied ourselves well to get the total on board," Kohli mentioned while speaking to the host broadcasters post match.
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