Former Bengal wicketkeeper-batter Shreevats Goswami has said that Virat Kohli should have quit playing ODIs and instead continued with Tests, because the Indian Test team misses his energy and belief, hours after the Rishabh Pant-led side looked below average against the World Test champions South Africa.
India’s slump at home looks even more glaring in the context of recent years. After an unusual 2
–0 whitewash in New Zealand in 2024, a brief resurgence came with a 2–0 victory over the Windies under Shubman Gill’s leadership.But that momentum has evaporated. A heavy loss in Kolkata and a grim position in the Guwahati Test now have them staring at another home series defeat, this time to South Africa.
“Ideally, Virat should have left playing
ODIs & continued playing test cricket until he had nothing to give. Test cricket misses him. Not just as a player but just the energy he brought, the love & passion playing for 🇮🇳 where he made the team believe that they can win in any condition,” Goswami tweeted on Monday evening.
Ideally Virat should have left playing ODIs & continued playing test cricket untill he had nothing to give. Test cricket misses him. Not just as a player but just the energy he brought, the love & passion playing for 🇮🇳 where he made the team believe that they can win in any…
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) November 24, 2025
Goswami also engaged in a small fan interaction. A user replied, “He needed a team environment that conveyed the same sentiment about his role in tests. @imVkohli decided to stay in the format where he was not being questioned.”
“Agree. Perhaps he left too soon because of the environment ?? We would never know,” Goswami replied.
Agree. Perhaps he left too soon because of the environment ?? We would never know
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) November 24, 2025
On a track that Kuldeep Yadav had compared to a ‘road’, the Indian batters were bounced out for a lowly 201 in their first innings by a 6 feet 8 inches tall pacer, Marco Jansen, who returned a haul of 6/48 after smashing 93 on the second day.
