Virat Kohli has retired from Test cricket after playing a 123 matches and scoring over 9,000 runs. But his decorated career could have been cut short in its fledgling stages when India selectors faced making a selection decision over his future in the format.
Despite his record-breaking end-of-career numbers, Kohli made an inauspicious start to his Test career when he was called-up against West Indies in the Caribbean. Having already scored eight ODI hundreds by that point, there were high hopes for he could offer an ageing India batting lineup in 2011. However, scores of 4 and 15 on debut in Kingston followed by a duck in Kingstown failed to inspire.
A pair of 50s in the return series in India, after he was left out of the intervening series in England, ensured he was part of the squad that headed out to Australia for the Test series later that year.
Kohli's inauspicious start...
Two matches into that series, however, and Kohli's place in the side was in trouble and under much speculation from the media. He made scores of 11 and 0 in the first Test in Melbourne, before scoring 23 and 9 in Sydney. Ahead of the third match at the WACA, and with India having been thumped in the previous match by an innings and 68 runs, there was a big selection call to be made to an under-fire batting unit.
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Writing on Twitter following the loss in the second Test, former India player and media pundit Sanjay Manjrekar said: "I would still drop VVS [Laxman] & get Rohit [Sharma] in for next Test. Makes long term sense. Give Virat one more test just to be sure he does not belong here."
I would still drop VVS & get rohit in for next test.Makes long term sense. give virat 1 more test..just to be sure he does not belong here.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) January 6, 2012
Rohit Sharma had yet to make his Test debut at that point, but was part of India's squad in Australia. He had, however, made his mark in India's ODI squad, although a run of poor form had seen him dropped for the 2011 World Cup, in which India recorded a famous win. Ajinkya Rahane was also part of the touring squad, and also had yet to make his Test debut at that point.
...and the inevitable response
Despite the questions over his place growing ever louder, Kohli was kept in India's XI for the third Test at the WACA. While the Test proved to be one of India's most dismal in recent history – they were bowled out for under 200 in each innings – Kohli found some success. He top-scored in both innings, scoring 44 in the first before reaching 75 in the second before he was caught behind off Peter Siddle.
Only one other player in the India lineup (Rahul Dravid) made more than 14, and seven failed to make it out of single digits. In an emotional press conference following the match, Kohli spoke out against the calls for him to be dropped, saying: "I don't know why people were even after me after the first game."
The next Test, however, was when Kohli truly put questions over his place to rest. He made his first Test century, again top-scoring and batting with the tail with one wicket left to reach the milestone amid high drama. That century was the first of 30 for Kohli in Tests, putting him fourth on the all-time list for India, and still ranks as one of his best.
The decision to block out the calls to drop him paved the way for the start of Kohli's era-defining Test career.
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