Millions of people have reacted to Virat Kohli's retirement photo posted on Instagram on May 12, but no one knows why the sun of Indian cricket set so soon?

Not only the fans but also the BCCI and the selectors are surprised by Kohli's decision. In such a situation, his decision to retire a few days before the England Test tour has given rise to many speculations.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that Kohli did not get the support of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, which expressed concern over his recent form and questioned his place in the Test line-up. Kaif said that playing in the Ranji Trophy after returning from the Australia tour shows that Virat did not want to leave Tests so soon.

'I think he wanted to continue playing in this format. There must have been some internal talks with the BCCI, the selectors must have cited his performance in the last 5-6 years and told him that he no longer has a place in the team. We will never know what happened, it is very difficult to guess what happened behind the scenes. But given the last-minute decision, after playing Ranji Trophy, I think he wanted to go on the upcoming Test tour. Due to the developments in the last few weeks, he did not get the support he expected from the BCCI and the selectors. '

The Australia tour was decisive.

The 36-year-old Kohli's form has declined in the last five years. His bat has produced only 2028 runs with three centuries in 68 innings. The struggle also dropped his career average to 46. Kohli showed signs of a comeback in the Australia tour, where he scored a brilliant century in the first Test played in Perth in November 2024. But after that, he could score only 90 runs in the tour and India lost 1-3.

'Kohli looked in a hurry to score runs in Australia'

Kaif feels that what happened to Kohli in Australia hurt him. He says, 'In the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he looked in a hurry to score runs. In Test cricket, you have to stay on the field for hours and work hard, which he has done before, but the ball taking the outside edge of the bat while trying to drive pointed to ahis lack of patience. Maybe he was thinking that I am in the last phase of my career, so what is the point of scoring a great century? Earlier he used to show a different kind of patience, he used to leave the balls. Used to take his time, tire out the bowlers, and then bring them down, but I did not see this in Australia.