Following Joe Root’s stellar form in the longest format of the game, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar remembered Indian great Virat Kohli and claimed that Kohli should not have left the format he once loved so early and instead should have made it a fighting platform.
The Test format has once again gained popularity in recent times, and England’s Joe Root has been the irreplaceable king of this format. He has been the leading run-scorer in WTC history and has been unbeaten in every season for England.
Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson have also had good seasons, but Virat Kohli has scored at an average of 31 in the last 5 years of his career. Kohli eventually announced his retirement from the format in 2025.
Sanjay Manjrekar fiercely attacks Virat Kohli’s test retirement
Following Kohli’s retirement, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar commented that the veteran Indian batsman should have tried to fight back instead of turning his back on the longest format of the game.
Manjrekar also launched a comprehensive attack on the Indian batsman and claimed that despite his remarkable fitness, he left Test cricket long ago when his teammates in England, Australia and New Zealand, who were part of the Fab-4, were still scoring runs with ease.
Manjrekar’s words were not taken lightly by the Indian fans, as they were angered by the sharp attack on their legend and the players were intent on calling him, one of the most aggressive stars in the longest format of the game, a coward.
Virat Kohli’s brother has launched a scathing attack on Sanjay Manjrekar.
After the attack on Virat Kohli, now Indian cricketer’s elder brother Vikas Kohli has responded to Sanjay Manjrekar’s words by tweeting. The Indian cricketer’s brother mocked Manjrekar, who has been attacked in the past for making such audacious claims.
Making fun of the former Indian batsman, Vikas Kohli wrote, “It seems people can’t make ends meet without mentioning Virat Kohli’s name.”
Vikas bhaiya is in no mood to spare Sanjay Manjrekar.
He is not backing down pic.twitter.com/18w4b9ojPu
– Kohlistick (@kohilistic18) 7 January 2026
His attack seemed to be a direct attack on the former player, who was trying to garner some attention by using Virat Kohli’s name. Virat is such an icon of world cricket that even his name can have a deep impact on the audience.
Virat Kohli is nearing 28000 international runs
Virat Kohli has retired from the Test and T20 formats of the game, but continues to play for India in the 50-over formats. A true veteran of the format, Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in the format and the player with the most centuries in the history of the format.
Kohli, who is just a few runs short of the 28,000-run mark in international cricket, will also take the least number of innings to reach the mark as he still has 19 innings left. Another 42 runs will see him surpass Kumar Sangakkara and become the second highest run scorer in international cricket behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli will have an opportunity to equal the record in the upcoming series against South Africa, where India will play three ODIs starting on January 11.
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