'Logon ki daal roti nahi chalti...': Virat Kohli's brother responds after Sanjay Manjrekar's retirement comment

Virat Kohli’s brother Vikas Kohli has reacted strongly after former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar once again questioned Kohli’s decision to retire from the longest format. Without naming Manjrekar, Vikas took a swipe at critics who continue to speak about the former India captain even after his retirement from Tests and T20Is.

In a post on Threads on Wednesday, Vikas wrote, “Seems like logon ki daal roti nahi chalti bina Virat Kohli ka naam liye hue,” which roughly translates to, “It seems like people can’t make a living without taking Virat Kohli’s name.” The post was widely seen as a response to Manjrekar’s recent comments on Kohli’s Test retirement.

What did Manjrekar say?

Earlier this week, Manjrekar had expressed disappointment over Kohli walking away from Test cricket, especially at a time when his contemporaries like Joe Root and Steve Smith continue to dominate the format. His remarks came after Root scored his 41st Test century and Smith brought up his 37th hundred during the fifth Ashes match in Sydney.

Speaking in a video shared on Instagram, Manjrekar said Kohli struggled in Tests for nearly five years before retiring and did not fully commit to fixing the issues in his game. He pointed out that Kohli averaged just 31 during that phase and felt the former India skipper could have tried harder before quitting.

More from First Cricket

How ICC’s security assessment was falsely portrayed by Bangladeshi media and sports adviser Asif Nazrul ICC sources rubbish Bangladesh sports adviser’s sensational claim of BCB being asked to drop Mustafizur

“Well, as Joe Root attains new heights in Test cricket, my mind goes to Virat Kohli. He’s walked away from Tests, and it’s unfortunate that in the five years that he struggled before retiring, he didn’t quite put his heart and soul into finding out the problems,” Manjrekar said.

Manjrekar also said he was more disappointed because Kohli continues to play One-Day Internationals, which he described as the easiest format for a top-order batter. The former India batter added that Kohli’s fitness could have allowed him to continue fighting for a place in the Test side.

Manjrekar said that watching players like Root, Smith and Kane Williamson score heavily in Tests makes him think of Kohli with sadness, especially because Kohli had always spoken passionately about the importance of Test cricket.

Quick Reads

View All

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

Meanwhile, Kohli will next be seen in action during the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Vadodara.