"Retired early from T20I cricket" - Former CSK star's huge statement on Virat Kohli during RCB vs RR IPL 2025 match

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Suresh Raina said that Virat Kohli took a rushed call regarding his T20I retirement and could have easily gone on to play until 2026. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star player parted ways from the shortest format of the game at the international level after Team India's triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Kohli bid farewell to T20Is with a player-of-the-match performance in the final against South Africa in Barbados. While announcing his retirement, he specifically mentioned that it was time for the next generation to take over. His words have proven to be true as the next-gen Indian players have settled into the T20I setup under Suryakumar Yadav's reign as captain.

The Men in Blue were even tasked with finding a successor to Kohli's famed No.3 position in the batting order. Suryakumar Yadav took up the role for a little while, before Tilak Varma made a serious case for the role with a prolific set of performances.

Team India are heading in a modern direction in a bid to defend the T20 World Cup on home soil next year without senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja. However, despite the team's promise and growth in the shortest format in recent times, Suresh Raina feels that Kohli should not have retired.

"I still think that Virat Kohli retired early from T20I cricket. He could have played until 2026, based on the rhythm with which he is playing right now, and the rhythm during the 2025 Champions Trophy as well. The way he has maintained his fitness, he looks like he is at his peak still," Raina said on Star Sports.

Kohli is having yet another campaign to remember for RCB in the IPL. After winning the Orange Cap for the second time in the 2024 season, the right-handed batter is once again in contention in 2025. He is the second-leading run-scorer in the ongoing edition, with 392 runs in nine matches at an average of 65.33.

"We kept the things going in a straightforward fashion and it worked" - Virat Kohli on RCB's nervy win over RR in IPL 2025

Virat Kohli stepped up for RCB to help them overturn their losing streak at home in IPL 2025. The opening batter paced his innings to perfection to score a 42-ball 70, guiding the team to 205-5 after 20 overs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday, April 24.

Despite RR's promising start, the bowlers pulled things back with heroics in the second half of the innings to seal an 11-run win.

"There's pace and bounce on offer in the first three-four overs, but today, we didn't rush things. We kept the things going in a straightforward fashion and it worked. 205 turns out to be a winning total, but that's the tricky thing! But, now, since we've got the runs, we can hopefully get 15-20 more runs too going forward. This is a special place to play an IPL game, and we love it giving these fans a win in front of them," Kohli said during the post-match presentation.

With this win, RCB move up to the third spot in the points table with 12 points to their name. They will next face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, April 27.