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Bails and Banter: Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan discusses Virat Kohli's retirement, lack of farewells and more

OTTplay presents Bails and Banter, powered by Dafa News, brings you the unknown stories of cricketers through former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan. Have a read of what today's episode has in store! 

Bails and Banter: Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan discusses Virat Kohli's retirement, lack of farewells and more

Atul Wassan, Virat Kohli

Last Updated: 03.22 PM, May 19, 2025

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Bails and Banter, presented by OTTplay and powered by Dafa News, is a show where legends talk about cricket, share unheard stories, discuss important angles of cricket, and teach lessons as well. In today's episode of Bails and Banter (May 17), we had former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan as the guest who discussed Virat Kohli's Test cricket retirement, lack of farewells in cricket, and more. 

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Atul Wassan says Virat Kohli's Test cricket retirement 'good call'

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli

During Bails and Banter, our hosts asked Atul Wassan about his thoughts on Virat Kohli announcing retirement from Test cricket. Talking about it, Wassan said that it is not about the matter of age, but fitness. He thinks that Virat's (36) fitness is better than a 30-year-old man. 

He added, "Virat got two kids now. The bandwidth that Test cricket has is not about matches. What you do before it and what you do after it also matter. It takes a lot from you. I think he has realized that he has nothing more to prove. People do not realize that the mentorship or presence of Virat is much more than his runs. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat realized that if they took more time, the team would have taken more time to rebuild. I think he has taken a good call. But we will miss him very much." 

Catch Bails and Banter every day on OTTplay App and YouTube, where Atul Wassan talks about cricket and exciting angles about the matches! 

Is there a lack of farewells in cricket due to social media?

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement through Instagram. In the episode of Bails and Banter, the experts also discussed whether cricket is lacking on-field farewells due to social media announcements. 

Atul said, "The on-field farewells take place when you announce your exit beforehand so the Board can plan it. But if you make up your mind suddenly, then you can announce it anytime through social media. The lack of farewells is not disappointing because why should a farewell take place? Like for example, for Virat Kohli, people know what he has done so he does not need a lot of massage. But 10 years ago, cricketers used to pray for farewells." 

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Who is the better Indian captain? Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni?

While answering a rapid-fire question, Atul said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a better captain than Virat Kohli. He also chose Dhoni over Sourav Ganguly. Catch Atul Wassan discussing Sourav's iconic moment of taking off his shirt and waving it in celebration after India's NatWest Trophy win at Lord's in 2002.

Bails and Banter is available for streaming on OTTplay App and YouTube.