“Woh mere bhi favourite cricketer hai” - DGMO of Indian Army brings up Virat Kohli’s Test retirement during press briefing [Watch]

India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Rajiv Ghai made a special mention of Virat Kohli during a press briefing on Monday, May 12, following the latter's Test retirement. Ghai mentioned that the legendary batter was his favourite cricketer, like most other Indian fans.

First reports of Kohli's potential retirement emerged on Saturday, May 10, with the Indian Express reporting he had made up his mind. On Monday, the Delhi-born cricketer officially announced it through a message on Instagram, saying it was a hard decision, but he was proud of his career.

While updating the nation on the Operation Sindoor in a press briefing, DGMO Ghai said:

"Aaj cricket ki baat karni bhi chahiye. Kyunki maine aaj dekha ki Virat Kohli ne Test cricket se retirement le li. Kahi bhartiyon ki tarah woh mere bhi favourite cricketer hain. (We need to talk about cricket as I saw Virat Kohli has retired from Test cricket. Like most Indians, he is my favourite cricketer too)."

The 36-year-old is the most successful Indian Test captain with 40 wins in 68 games under his leadership. He also never lost a series at home as captain and was the first Asian skipper to register a series win over Australia Down Under.

Virat Kohli to continue playing ODIs

Virat Kohli. (Image Credits: Getty)

Having already retired from T20Is and Tests, the veteran batter will now feature only in ODIs for India. He is currently the third-highest run-getter in one-day internationals with 14181 runs in 302 games, averaging a mighty 57.88. His century tally of 51 tons is the highest in ODI cricket history. He also won a second Champions Trophy title as a player earlier this year.

With India failing to win the 2023 World Cup despite an outstanding run in the group stage, the right-handed batter will be fired up ahead of the 2027 edition. The former Indian captain holds the record for most runs in a single edition of the 50-over World Cup, with 765 runs in 2023.