"At times, we are too critical" - When Gautam Gambhir threw his weight behind Virat Kohli during the latter's 100th Test

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir often had much to say about ace batter Virat Kohli during his time as an analyst. One such instance was when Gambhir supported Kohli after his dismissal against Sri Lanka in his 100th Test.

In the home series at Mohali in 2022, the champion batter had an edgy stay at the crease before being castled for 45 off 76 deliveries. Many slammed the right-hander for his dismissal after being well-set on good batting conditions.

However, in a conversation on Star Sports during the match, Gambhir came to Kohli's defense, saying (via Sportskeeda):

"At times we are too critical of Virat Kohli because even if he plays one bad shot, we say lapse in concentration. If you talk about the start, every player is nervous, not only Virat; the greatest players in the world are nervous, especially when you are playing your 100th Test."

He added:

"Here there was a misjudgment of length. The same deliveries he was playing on the front foot before this, and nothing was happening. He played back, the ball spun a little, and he got beaten, but before that, the sort of batting he did, he was in absolute control."

Despite Kohli missing out on a half-century, India posted a massive 574/8 declared in their first innings. They eventually won the contest by an innings and 222 runs to take a 1-0 series lead.

Virat Kohli recently retired from Test cricket after 123 games

Virat Kohli recently shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from Tests ahead of India's tour of England. The 36-year-old is India's fourth leading run-scorer and centurion with 9,230 and 30, respectively.

The veteran batter endured a poor run of form in Tests leading up to his retirement, averaging only 22.47 in his previous 10 games. Kohli's Test numbers took a significant hit over the past years since the start of 2020, with the batter scoring only three centuries in 69 innings.

His Test retirement announcement came a week after skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed his retirement from the format, leaving India with a massive hole to fill in the batting lineup. Shubman Gill will take over as India's next Test captain.

They will take on England in five Tests, starting at Leeds on June 20. The series marks the start of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for Team India.