Virat Kohli and Sunil Chhetri have been very good friends for a long time now and it is not surprising that the former India skipper knew about the latter's decision to retire from international football before he made it public. Kohli was one of the first athletes to comment on Chhetri's retirement announcement video on Thursday (May 17) on Instagram stating that he is very much proud of him.
Meanwhile, the RCB opener has revealed that Sunil Chhetri is at peace with his decision to call it quits from football at the highest level. He also called India's football captain as one of the great players and wished him well too. "He (Chhetri) is a really great player. He actually messaged me as well informing that he's going to do that. But I would actually say I felt like he is at peace with the decision. I have become very close with him over the years and I wish the best. He is a lovely, lovely guy," Kohli said in a short video interview for his IPL team RCB on X (formerly Twitter).
For the unversed, Sunil Chhetri posted a video confirming his retirement. He has played a staggering 150 matches for India at the international level and has also scored a massive 94 goals, fourth most overall and third most among active players. Speaking of his retirement in a video, the 39-year-old admitted that it wasn't an easy decision for him as the kid inside him forever wants to play football for the country.
"Will I be sad after this? Of course. Do I feel sad sometimes everyday because of this? Yes. It took time because the kid inside me, he never wants to stop if given a chance to play for his country. Never... Nothing comes close to playing for a country. So the kid kept fighting and probably even in the future will keep fighting inside. I think the sensible, the matured player, the person inside knew it, that, this is it. But it wasn't easy," Chhetri said.
