Virat Kohli, India’s talisman of cricket, has formally taken to social media to announce the end of a 14-year career in the longest and most completely, physically demanding format of the batting fraternity, Test cricket.
The 36-year-old Kohli has officially announced to the world via social media on Monday, that he is retiring from Test cricket. “It’s been 14 years since I wore the baggy blue in test cricket … To make this shift away from this format is not easy, but it feels right.” Kohli reflected on his career with gratitude.
Virat Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, followed by an important maiden Test century on the (2011-12) tour of Australia scored on a tough tour with 116 runs in the 1st Test in Adelaide. Kohli would go on to become the spine of India’s batting order through the 14 years amassing 9230 runs from 123 Tests, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.
Outside his remarkable exploits with the bat, Kohli’s leadership transformed India’s red-ball cricket approach. After taking over the captaincy in 2014, he has played 68 Tests as captain, out of which he has won 40 – the most by any Indian men’s Test captain. This amount represented the fourth highest total number of wins by a captain in Test cricket history, behind only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh. Kohli’s legacy represented by records, statistics and also beinning the fourth highest century maker for India in Test cricket, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (51), Rahul Dravid (36), and Sunil Gavaskar (34).
In addition, Kohli possesses the national record for double centuries (7) and the record for most test century as captain of India (20).
Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket follows so soon after the announcement that Rohit Sharma has declared to end his Test cricket career – signalling the end of an era for Indian cricket in which the two of them were the keystones in India’s reign of domination in all formats of the game in the last decade. Kohli already retired from T20 internationals last year, with a World Cup trophy in hand, with his last appearance for the national team being at earlier this year when they won the Champions Trophy held by Rohit Sharma at the helm.
As India enters a new era, Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket marks the end of arguably the most impactful time in Indian cricket. Known for his love of the game, unrivalled passion, and unacceptable pursuit of excellence, Kohli leaves behind a legacy that will live on for generations.
#269, signing off. 🇮🇳 — a simple man’s but LOUD statement for the man who gave everything he had to the game.
Read More: Rohit Sharma Announced His Retirement from Test Cricket Amidst IPL 2025
