Virat Kohli: ‘Why, Virat? We all still need you!’: Shashi Tharoor pays glowing tribute to ‘immortal’ Kohli after Test retirement

File Pic: Virat Kohli and Shashi Tharoor (Pic credit score: Tharoor’s put up)

NEW DELHI: As tributes poured in for Virat Kohli following his shock retirement from Test cricket on May 12, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s heartfelt message stood out — calling the previous Indian captain “immortal in whites” and lamenting the absence of a farewell match for considered one of India’s biggest sporting icons.Tharoor, a recognized cricket fanatic, shared a poignant observe on social media together with {a photograph} from his first and solely assembly with Kohli throughout the early days of the latter’s worldwide profession. In his message, Tharoor recalled how he had admired Kohli throughout all codecs however held a particular reverence for his performances in Test cricket.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“The only time I met the immortal @imVkohli face-to-face, early in his career, when he was well on his way to becoming the legend we have all admired,” Tharoor wrote on X. Who’s that IPL participant?“I’ve watched him bat in various formats and admired him most in Tests. I’m truly sad to see him go so early, so unexpectedly, without even the joy of a farewell Test match at home. Why, Virat? We all still need you!”Kohli, who ended his Test journey on the age of 36, surprised the cricketing world by saying his resolution through Instagram. Over 123 Tests, he amassed 9,230 runs, together with 30 centuries, and redefined India’s abroad ambitions as each a batter and chief.

Tharoor’s emotional attraction captures a wider sentiment — that Kohli’s sudden exit has left a void that goes past numbers. As India gears up for the subsequent World Test Championship cycle, the controversy over who fills Kohli’s footwear begins. But for now, the cricketing world pauses to salute a modern-day gladiator who made Test cricket thrilling, intense, and deeply private.