Virat Kohli is at his happiest now: RCB coach Dinesh Karthik opens up about star batter's Test retirement

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach Dinesh Karthik has said that star India batter Virat Kohli is at his "happiest now" after announcing retirement from Test cricket.

Kohli wrote a heartfelt post on Instagram to announce his retirement form the longest format. His announcement came days after captain Rohit Sharma retired from red-ball cricket. The decisions leave India finding for a captain and batters before they leave for a long five-match Test tour to England.

Kohli is playing RCB's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ekana Stadium on Friday. Kohli scored 43 runs in a chase of 232 runs in the match.


Karthik, who has shared the same dressing room with the Indian legend and has been with him since the announcement of the surprising decision, revealed the 36-year-old is enjoying the sport.

"It came as a shock to the outside world, so we are just observing what Virat is up to. he is at his happiest now, he is enjoying the sport, he really wants to spend his time with his family. It's a personal decision, we respect it, and as everyone else, oh, this is happening, but the fact is, it's great to see him happy and ready whenever we want him to play. The key is to keep him in good spirits," Karthik said on Thursday.

Kohli's 14-year journey in the whites transformed India into a result-focused team. He infused aggression and the culture of fitness into the team.

In a career that redefined the demands of the game, Virat scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties, and finished as India's fourth-highest run-getter in the format.

Kohli's retirement from red-ball cricket marked the continuation of the exodus trend from the Test format in the Indian setup.

Before the Indian batting bigwigs, the illustrious frontline off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin called it a day on his international career midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.