Harbhajan said his daughter Hinaya texted Kohli asking for the reasons behind his decision to end his red-ball career.

The text message instantly made Kohli emotional. He smiled and replied, “Beta, it’s time.”

“I tweeted and asked why, Virat why? Why did you retire from Test cricket? Even my daughter asked me, ‘Papa, why did Virat retire?’ She even messaged Virat saying, ‘This is Hinaya, Virat, why did you retire?’ Virat’s heart also sank. He smiled and replied, ‘Beta, it’s time”. He knows the best,” Harbhajan told Instant Bollywood.

Harbhajan and Kohli have played 8 tests, 41 ODIs and 5 T20Is together for India. They were also a part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team.

Kohli announced his Test retirement on May 12. The 36-year-old Kohli turned up in 123 Tests for India, scoring 9230 runs with 30 hundreds at an average of 46.85. He will only play in ODIs now, having already retired from T20 Internationals last year.

“As I step away from this format, it’s not easy — but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for,” Kohli announced on his Instagram page.

“I’m walking away with a heart full of gratitude — for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way,” he added.

An inspirational figure, Kohli was India’s most successful Test captains with 40 wins and 17 defeats in 68 matches before stepping down from the role in 2022.

The next best are Mahendra Singh Dhoni with 27 wins from 60 and Sourav Ganguly with 21 from 49.

His retirement continued the exodus of Indian bigwigs from the Test arena.

Ravichandran Ashwin (in December) and Rohit Sharma (last week) are the others to have called it quits in the format.

Ravichandran Ashwin (in December) and Rohit Sharma (last week) are the others to have called it quits in the format.