When cricketers retire, the fans will normally celebrate them. But there are a few who depart with that "what if" sentiment. Virat Kohli is among them. A bit earlier today, the former Indian captain went on record officially to say goodbye to Test cricket. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest Test captains of India—admired for his intensity, grit, and sheer work ethic. Kohli wasn't content to be the best; he wanted India to be the best. No slump in his performance towards the end of his career can sully that. His 68 captaincy victories, centuries in England, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand have cemented his own place in the annals of history. That is his legacy. Kohli does not look back. He gave everything to Test cricket. But fans like me are greedy. We wanted more. There were milestones to be achieved. But oh, we will never see those moments now. 10,000 Test Cricket runs: More than a century of Test cricket, and only 15 batsmen have crossed the 10,000-run milestone. Three Indians, Tendulkar, Gavaskar, and Dravid, are on this list. Kohli was inches away, 770 runs shy of joining this group. All of us felt that he will be part of them. Covid, losing touch, and then retirement got the better of him. 36 Centuries: Kohli had 27 Test centuries by December 2019. He had 9 more to reach Gavaskar's 35, a number that had a symbolic significance as Gavaskar was the first to reach 10,000 runs. Kohli had over four years to do so. But he was able to manage only three and had 30 left. That number made all of us think about what could have been. Conquering South Africa, New Zealand and England as captain: It is fun to talk about Kohli the captain, not the batsman and justifiably so. India was unbeatable at home as his captain. He was also the first Asian captain to have won a Test series in Australia. But winning Tests in England, South Africa, and New Zealand remained elusive. These near-misses maybe denied him a tag of the greatest Test captain ever. Unable to win WTC mace: Kohli played a crucial role in advocating for the World Test Championship. Had he not been behind it, the format could have lost its sheen. He was the champion of Test cricket. Despite getting only one opportunity for the WTC title in 2021, when India was arguably the best side, New Zealand stole the title from them. Kohli has admitted to not being a proper batsman. He barely ever played cuts and sweeps. But he was extremely skilled at other shots cover drives and flicks were his specialty. He was always vulnerable outside off stump. Bowlers could not capitalize on it for years. But since 2020, his trend changed. He kept getting dismissed by balls outside off. His recent series was no exception too. Would fixing that flaw have delayed his retirement? We will never know. Unfortunate to not play against Pakistan: India's best Test batsmen Tendulkar, Dravid, and Gavaskar were all faced by Pakistan. There are a few who would put Sehwag ahead of Kohli. But Kohli never had a chance to play against India's big Test rivals due to tense Indo-Pak relations. Not even once. That's another 'what if' in his life. Gavaskar and Dravid each scored five Test centuries against Pakistan. Tendulkar scored one and had a career average in excess of 40. Kohli never got that opportunity. It's sad. A chapter never written in his otherwise illustrious career.