Virat Kohli squashes reports of Test comeback, says he is going to play only one format

India’s veteran batter Virat Kohli has squashed reports of his comeback in Test cricket and said he is going to play only one format of the game. It was recently reported that Kohli could return to the red-ball format after India suffered a 0-2 Test series loss against South Africa. Kohli had announced his Test retirement in May and he is at peace with his decision.

Meanwhile, Kohli scored a brilliant knock of 135 runs off just 120 balls in the opening ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Sunday. This was the 52nd ODI century for Kohli as he leapfrogged Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 51 hundreds in the 50-over version. 

Kohli’s knock helped India post 349 runs on the board and register a 17-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

When asked if he is going to play just one form of the game in the future too by Harsha Bhogle in the post-match presentation, Kohli said, “Yes, that’s how it’s always going to be. I’m just playing one form of the game.”

Speaking about his magnificent knock, Kohli said after getting the Player of the Match award, “Well, today was really nice to kind of get into the game like that. The pitch played quite decently in the first 20-25 overs before it started to slow down. So, I just felt like, you know, let me just go out there and just hit the ball. Not think too much about any of the other stuff. It’s just me and the ball coming at me and just enjoy the game of cricket, which was the very reason I started playing this game. So, it was just about staying in the space of enjoyment and, of course, when you get a start and you get into the situation, then you know what you’ve done over so many years and the experience kicks in and then you understand the situation and able to build an innings.”

The second ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday.