Virat Kohli announces retirement from Test cricket to signal end of an era

Indian cricket team’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli has decided to end his Test career with immediate effect ahead of India’s tour to England in June 2025. That brings curtains to a successful stint of 14 years in the longer format which started off in the Caribbean on June 20, 2011.

"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 said on his instagram handle.

"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,” the former Test captain stated.

Kohli’s retirement comes a couple of days after he had made his wish to stop playing in the longer format to the BCCI with the organisation asking him to reconsider his decision with the impending England tour in mind. However, Kohli decided to call it quits and followed Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who bid adieu to the longer format ahead of the England Tour.

The 36-year-old batter from Delhi, who owned the number four position in Tests, has amassed 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85 with a tally of 30 centuries and 31 fifties. The master batter also has seven double hundreds to his name with a highest score of 254 not out against South Africa in the Pune Test in October 2019.

Often dubbed as one among the ‘Fabulous Four’ in the current generation of Test batters along with Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root, Kohli is the fourth-highest run-getter for India in Tests. He is also fourth on the list of most centuries for the country behind the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar.

Kohli, who took over captaincy after MS Dhoni retired from Tests in 2014, has led India in a record 68 Test matches winning a whopping 40 times while losing on 17 occasions with 11 of them ending in draws. He is also the most successful Test captain the country has seen with a win percentage of 58.82, the highest among those who have led India in a minimum of 10 Tests.

The middle-order batter last featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 during India’s tour of Australia. Though he had a century to his name in Perth, Kohli had a forgettable tour with a tally of 190 runs from nine innings at an average of 23.75 with his last Test innings coming at Sydney.