Virat Kohli, who changed the style of play in Indian Cricket’s test match approach, has reportedly informed the BCCI that he wants to retire from test cricket. This decision is coming just before the important England tour, and the BCCI has asked Virat to reconsider his decision. The former Indian captain has been the main player for India in tests for many years, and his and Ravi Shastri's duo showed the world how an attacking approach in test matches is the way ahead for Indian cricket.
Virat to follow Rohit Sharma?
Current Indian captain Rohit Sharma also announced his retirement from test matches recently, and Virat is now following in his footsteps. The RO-KO duo has been the main center of Indian cricket for many years, and the possibility of both the experienced players retiring together will leave a big void in the team. The Duo also announced their T20i retirement together after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. Now it looks like the duo will also be retiring from test matches together. Recently, in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, India was defeated by the Australian side, and both the players performed way below expectations. This recent failure in Australia could be the reason for the retirement decision.
A glorious test career for “KING Kohli”
Virat Kohli is one of the greatest to ever grace “the gentlemen’s game,” and if he decides to retire from the oldest format of the game, he will be going out as India’s best modern-day batsman.
Virat has played 123 Test matches for India, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. His highest score is an unbeaten 254, and he has recorded 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries in test cricket. Kohli reached 9000 test runs in October 2024 during a match against New Zealand, he is only the fourth Indian to achieve this feat after Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Rahul Dravid. Kohli made his test debut in 2011 and will be retiring as the best Indian player in this era if he decides to leave Test cricket.
Kohli: Greatest Indian test captain
Kohli took over the test captaincy in 2014 and changed India’s approach with an aggressive, fitness-driven culture. Under his leadership:
1. India became the No.1 team in the ICC rankings for over 40 months
2. He led India to the first-ever series win in Australia in the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar trophy.
3. He took India to the first-ever WTC final in 2021
Ended his tenure as the most successful Test Captain with 40 wins in 68 matches.
What does it mean for the future?
Virat Kohli is the only Indian cricketer who has managed to score test centuries in all “SENA” countries. This tells us that Kohli’s exceptional adaptability and dominance across all challenging overseas conditions will be missed by the Indian team. It will be impossible for the team to find a replacement for Kohli, and he will be leaving a void that will take a lot of time to fill if he decides to retire from the format. If Kohli retires in test cricket, then he will be only seen in the ODI format like Rohit Sharma, and their decision makes it clear that they are now targeting the 2027 ODI World Cup.
About the Author
Arpit Sharma is a sports writer and journalism student at Chandigarh University, with a strong interest in sports analysis and storytelling. His writing combines match insights with a fresh, fan-first perspective that brings the game to life.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Vygr's views.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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