Virat Kohli's Test retirement has shocked cricket fans in shock as it marks the end of the career, of India's greatest player in the longest format of the game. At the age of 36, many cricket experts believed Kohli still had a lot of red-ball cricket left in him despite a recent dip in form in the longest format.

Hence, Kohli's decision to bid adieu to the game has raised eyebrows, especially as it has before a marquee five-match Test series against England

A report by India Today has revealed the timeline of events that led to Kohli making the big decision. Reportedly, after India's defeat in the Adelaide Test against Australia, the selectors were not pleased with the captaincy transition post the victory in Perth between Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma.'The Indian selectors felt that the team lacked clarity and direction during the transition of captaincy between the two matches,' the report states.

The same report claims that Kohli was sounded out informally over leading the Test team for a short-term while the selectors identify a new young captain.

However, it is reported that things turned around post the defeat in the Boxing Day test as Kohli's returns with the bat declined following a century in the Perth Test, and the star Indian cricketer was made aware by the selectors that his place in the squad was no longer secure.

The same report states that the selectors had a chat with Kohli once again towards the end of April and told him that they were no longer looking at him as a captaincy option and instead wanted to go into the England tour with a young captain. He was also not given assurances of a place in the squad and told that he would be judged like any other player, despite his stature.

It is reported that it was at this point that Kohli felt disillusioned with Indian cricket and told the selectors he would not travel to England. Efforts were made by BCCI officials and people close to Indian cricket but Kohli stayed firm on his decision to retire from the format.

On the tour of Australia, Kohli made just 190 runs in nine innings despite a century in Australia. Before that, he made just 93 runs in six innings in the home series against England. Since the turn of the decade, Kohli's career Test average has fallen from 54.98 to 46.85.

Kohli retired from the format just 770 runs away from the major milestone of 10,000 runs in the format. He played 123 matches and scored 9230 runs with 30 centuries. He also captained India in 68 matches and won 40 games, which is the most by an Asian captain in history.

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