Virat Kohli Retires From Test Cricket, Ending 14-Year Career

Virat Kohli, one of India’s greatest batters, has announced his retirement from test cricket, ending a glorious 14-year journey.

Kohli leaves the longest format of the game with 9230 runs from 123 Tests, having scored 30 Test centuries and 31 fifties. The 36-year-old had an average of 46.85 in tests.

The top-order batter announced the news with an Instagram photo on Monday, which gained nearly five million likes in less than an hour.

“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 in the caption.

“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.”

Kohli was rumored to step down from test cricket after incumbent India test captain Rohit Sharma made a surprising announcement last week to retire from the format.

The news of their retirements will be a huge blow to the Indian test team, which is due to play a five-match series in England, starting June 20.

India will be playing under a new captain in that tour, with ESPNCricinfo reporting 25-year-old Shubman Gill to be the frontrunner to take the spot.

Virat Kohli: By The Numbers

Kohli, who made his debut against the West Indies in 2011, captained India in tests from 2014 to 2022. The New Delhi-born player led the team to 40 wins from his 68 tests, making him the most successful Indian men’s captain in tests, in terms of wins.

With Kohli at the helm, India suffered only 17 defeats. He also guided India to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021, where they lost to New Zealand.
Kohli was also part of the team that lost the second World Test Championship final to Australia in 2023.

Overall, he is the fourth-most successful test captain, behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith (53 wins) and Australia’s Ricky Ponting (48 wins) and Steve Waugh (41 wins).

With 30 test centuries, Kohli is the fourth-most successful Indian batter, behind Sachin Tendulkar (51 hundreds), Rahul Dravid (36), and Sunil Gavaskar (34).

Kohli’s last test match was in January against Australia in Sydney, where he scored 17 runs in the first innings and six in the second, as Australia won that match by six wickets, and the five-test series 3-1, regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

During that tour of Australia, Kohli scored a century in Perth in November – his first century in tests since July 2023.

Virat Kohli – lovingly called ‘King Kohli’ by his fans – will represent India only in the one-day international format from now on, having already retired from Twenty20 internationals last year after they won the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.