End of an Era with Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement

On May 12, 2025, the veteran Indian batsman, Virat Kohli, announced his retirement from Test cricket. With this, he ended his illustrious career in the longest format of the game. Earlier on May 7, His teammate Rohit Sharma also said goodbye to the Test format. Virat Kohli had hinted at retirement from Test cricket a few days ago. Virat Kohli was constantly in touch with the BCCI regarding the future of his Test career. Just a few days ago, he talked to the BCCI about his retirement in Test cricket, after which the BCCI asked him to reconsider his decision.

Virat Kohli played a total of 123 matches in his Test career, in which he scored a total of 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. He scored 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries in his Test career, with his highest score being an unbeaten 254. He made his Test debut against the West Indies on June 20, 2011. And he played his last Test against Australia in Sydney during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2024/25.

He is also considered India's most successful Test captain. Under his leadership, the Indian team won 40 out of 68 matches. Under his captaincy, India reached the number one ranking in Test cricket and achieved significant success both at home and away. Virat Kohli took over the command of the Indian Test side after Mahendra Singh Dhoni's sudden retirement from Test cricket on the Australia tour in 2014. Under his captaincy, India played in a different style in Test cricket. India also played the World Test Championship Final 2021 under his captaincy. Even though India could not win the World Test Championship final under Virat's captaincy, fans still miss his captaincy in Test cricket. The Biggest Achievement of Virat’s Captaincy came when India won the BGT on Australian Soil by 2-1.

In his last Test series against Australia, he could score only 190 runs in 10 innings of five Test matches. In the last home series against New Zealand, Virat could not do anything special. As per reports, BCCI had reportedly urged Kohli to reconsider his decision in view of the upcoming Test series against England starting from June 20, however, reports suggest that Kohli is adamant on his stance. The retirement of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is a period of significant change for the Indian Test team, especially with the new ICC World Test Championship cycle. His retirement is the end of an era, and the cricket world will watch how the Indian team adjusts to this important change.