'A true torchbearer': Legendary Indian cricketer Virat Kohli retires ahead of England tour

12 May 2025, 11:10 | Updated: 12 May 2025, 11:14

India great Virat Kohli has announced his retirement from Test cricket.

Kohli's decision to retire comes just days after Rohit Sharma - who succeeded Kohli as skipper - also retired from Test cricket.

The 36-year-old amassed 9,230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, putting him 19th in the all-time list for runscorers and behind only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar among his fellow Indians.

However, Kohli’s aura had been dimming in recent years with just one hundred in his last 23 innings and three in his most recent 39 Tests, with his average dipping to a modest 30.72 since the start of 2020.

While still expected to be India’s middle-order linchpin in a five-Test series against England that begins on June 20, Kohli has called a halt to a career in the longest format that began in June 2011.

Kohli, whose 40 wins in 68 Tests in charge of India makes him his country’s most successful leader in whites, wrote on Instagram: “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.

“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.”

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In a tribute on X, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan hailed Kohli's career as "phenomenal".

Mr Pathan wrote: "As captain, you didn’t just win matches—you changed mindsets.

"You made fitness, aggression, and pride in whites the new standard. A true torchbearer of modern Indian Test cricket."

He called Kohli a "true torchbearer of modern Indian Test cricket."

After India’s T20 World Cup triumph last June, Kohli retired from the format but he is still expected to continue in ODIs, where he has amassed a record-breaking 51 centuries.

Kohli, the most followed Asian and cricketer on Instagram with more than 271 million followers, made 30 Test tons and was often held up as one of the four greatest batters of the modern age alongside England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

He becomes the first of the ‘Fab Four’ to bow out of Tests, with his decision coming hot on the heels of India captain Rohit Sharma, who succeeded Kohli as skipper in 2022, standing down and retiring last week.