Virat Kohli has declared his retirement from Test cricket, after a 14-year career that earned 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 in 123 Test matches, 68 of which he played as captain.
According to a source on ESPNcricinfo on Saturday, Kohli had informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of his intention to retire from Test cricket prior to the crucial five-match series in England that began on June 20 and for which he was anticipated to be included in the squad.
According to information available at the time, Kohli had been discussing the issue with BCCI authorities for the previous month or so.
It hadn’t been a very productive period for Kohli in the format lately. His first century in Test cricket since July 2023 – against the West Indies in Port of Spain – came in November 2024 when he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test.
His average over the previous 24 months was 32.56, reaching its highest of 55.10 following his career-best 254 not out against South Africa in Pune in 2019.
Although Shubman Gill is the front-runner to succeed Rohit Sharma after the latter retired from Test cricket earlier this week, it is believed that the team management and selectors needed his experience on the England tour, where India would be playing under a new captain.
Late last year, R Ashwin, in addition to Rohit, announced his retirement from international cricket. The only connections to that era of Indian Test cricket, when they advanced to two consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) finals, the first under Kohli’s leadership, are KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah.
This is because Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are currently out of the picture, and Mohammed Shami’s form is being questioned following his return from a protracted injury layoff.
In the most recent BCCI contracts, Kohli and Rohit were placed in the highest category (A+), which is typically reserved for players who participate in all three international forms. After India won the World Cup last year, Rohit and Kohli withdrew from Twenty20 Internationals and will only play ODI cricket now.
After a quiet start in Kingston, where he scored four and fifteen runs, Kohli made his Test debut during India’s tour of the West Indies in mid-2011. During that tour, he amassed 76 runs in five innings. Later that year, at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Kohli first displayed glimmers of his abilities, scoring fifty-two and sixty-three runs.
It was a struggle initially on the subsequent, ill-fated tour of Australia, where India lost 4-0, but Kohli finished the series on a high, scoring his first Test century in the Adelaide Test.
