Navjot Singh Sidhu has made an emotional appeal for Virat Kohli’s Test return. Citing Kohli’s elite fitness and form, Sidhu believes a comeback would unite and uplift Indian cricket fans nationwide.
Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has sparked fresh conversation around Virat Kohli’s Test retirement after sharing an emotional message on social media, expressing his wish to see the former India captain return to red-ball cricket. Sidhu suggested that Kohli’s comeback would be a moment of collective joy for the nation, underlining the batter’s unmatched fitness and enduring aura.
Kohli officially retired from Test cricket on May 12, 2025, bringing an end to one of the most influential red-ball careers in Indian cricket history. Speaking through an Instagram post, Sidhu said Kohli’s presence in Test cricket would uplift the entire country and insisted that the 37-year-old’s physical conditioning remains elite, comparable to a player much younger in age.
“If God granted me a wish I’d say bring Kohli out of his retirement & make him play Test Cricket . Nothing would give more joy and ecstasy to a country of 1.5 billion ! His fitness is that of a twenty year old – he himself 24 carat gold,” Sidhu wrote.
Kohli’s Test retirement earlier this year followed his decision to step away from T20 Internationals after India’s World Cup triumph in Barbados in 2024. With that, the former captain transitioned into a single-format international player, committing himself fully to One Day Internationals.
Despite retiring from two formats, Kohli’s ODI form has shown little sign of decline. After India’s Champions Trophy victory in March, he endured a rare lean patch in Australia, registering back-to-back ducks in the opening two ODIs, the first such instance of his international career. The response, however, was emphatic. Kohli struck an unbeaten 74 in Sydney as India chased down the target with ease, alongside Rohit Sharma’s commanding century.
The resurgence continued in South Africa, where Kohli hammered successive centuries in the first two ODIs before finishing the series with an unbeaten 65 to seal a 2-1 win. He ended the year with 651 ODI runs from 13 innings at an average of 65.10.
