Sourav Ganguly has silenced all conjectures and rumors about Virat Kohli's retirement by declaring that the former captain understood it was time for him to quit the format. On May 12, four days after The Indian Express published a story stating that Kohli had notified the BCCI of his choice to end his 14-year career, Kohli announced his retirement. The BCCI also attempted to persuade Kohli differently, according to the statement, but Kohli had already decided. Numerous fan hypotheses, however, surfaced suggesting that Kohli was forced to retire, particularly after he showed up to play Ranji Trophy for Delhi despite having a bad series in Australia.

In agreement, Ganguly, who collaborated extensively with Kohli during his tenure as president of the BCCI, highlighted that a player of Kohli's caliber would be the best judge of his position and performance. At only 36 years old, Kohli still had at least a few years of cricket left in him, having already quit T20Is. The retirement choice surprised Ganguly, just as it did everyone else, but he maintained that regardless of how much pressure they are under, great players make their own decisions.

"In my opinion, it's quite unimportant. Whether it's my terms or someone else's. You comprehend it as a player. Everyone knows where he is right now as a player. Simply consider Virat. Everyone asks why. Despite his poor performance over the previous five years in Test cricket, he, like other champions, makes a comeback. And I'm sure that he would have made runs if he had been on this trip across England. Ganguly told PTI that he believed it was time to leave.

Using his own experience, Ganguly described Kohli's retirement. When Ganguly gave up playing Test cricket, he was 37 years old. He had not played an ODI for India in more than a year, and he had never participated in a T20I. Younger, fresher, and more energetic players were the way forward as the Indian team prepared for the 2011 World Cup. By that point, Ganguly would have been almost 40 years old, so the left-handed batter thought he had done enough, even if the fire within him never went out.

Given that Ganguly was continually under trial by fire after being fired as captain and then let off the team, Dada chose to leave with "why" rather than "why not" in spite of the fact that he played the best cricket of his life in 2006–2007 and scored more ODI runs than any other Indian batter. Ganguly left the stage because he knew it was his time, and he believes the same is true for Kohli.

Kohli's choice stunned Ganguly, who was only 36

"All things must end. The news of Virat Kohli's retirement caught many of us off guard. Only 36 years old. Although he still plays IPL and one-day cricket, it's not the same, Ganguly continued. "Someday you have to stop playing, and I felt that now was the best time for me to stop, and I did."

In Nagpur, Ganguly faced Australia in a Test match, where he was dismissed for a golden duck in his final game for India.

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