Kohli brings an end to decorated Test career 

Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket ending the speculation about his future in the longest format. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Just five days after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket in an Instagram story, Virat Kohli followed suit with a post on the social media platform to bring an end to a decorated Test career.

The 36-year-old’s announcement seemed to be on the cards after it emerged that he had told the selectors of his wish to step away from the longest format ahead of India’s five-Test series in England beginning on June 20.

Having made his Test debut in 2011, Kohli amassed 9230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties. While he reached phenomenal highs as a No. 4 batter from 2016 to 2019, in particular, his slide in the last five years was steep. Since January 2020, he averaged 30.72 in 39 Tests with just three tons. The final straw was the recent five-Test tour of Australia, where he only mustered 190 runs in nine innings despite scoring a century in the second innings of the first Test in Perth.

“It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life,” Kohli wrote in an Instagram post on Monday (May 12, 2025) afternoon.

“There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever. As I step away from this format, it’s not easy — but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for.”

“I’m walking away with a heart full of gratitude — for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way. I’ll always look back at my Test career with a smile. #269, signing off.”

Though Kohli hasn’t managed to join the elusive 10,000-run club – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar are the only Indians to have achieved that feat – he leaves behind an enduring legacy as a Test cricketer.

Besides racking up all the runs that he did over the course of a 14-year career, he also played an instrumental role as captain from 2014 to 2022, placing a strong emphasis on fitness and developing a core of potent pace bowlers. With 40 victories in 68 Tests as India captain, he is statistically the country’s most successful skipper.

Among his most memorable achievements as a leader will be India’s first-ever series triumph on Australian soil in 2018/19.

Now that both Kohli and Rohit will no longer don the whites, the selectors will have to repose their faith in a young, inexperienced batting unit as the team embarks on a challenging tour of England in a month’s time.