In a move that has sent shockwaves through the cricketing world, India’s batting stalwart Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, May 12, 2025. The 36-year-old’s decision comes barely a week after current Test captain Rohit Sharma also announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.
Taking to social media to break the news, Kohli wrote: “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.”
“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,” his heartfelt message continued.
The Delhi batter concluded his post with “#269, signing off” – a reference to his Test cap number.
Virat Kohli’s Test Career in Numbers
| Statistics | Figure |
|---|---|
| Matches | 123 |
| Innings | 210 |
| Runs | 9,230 |
| Highest Score | 254* |
| Average | 46.85 |
| Strike Rate | 55.58 |
| Not Outs | 13 |
| Fours | 1,027 |
| Sixes | 30 |
| Half Centuries | 31 |
| Centuries | 30 |
| Double Centuries | 7 |
| Matches as Captain | 68 |
| Wins as Captain | 40 |
| Debut | vs West Indies, June 20, 2011 |
| Final Test | vs Australia, January 3, 2025 |
His 30 Test centuries rank him fourth among Indian batters, behind Tendulkar (51), Dravid (36), and Gavaskar (34). Kohli also made seven double hundreds, the most ever by an Indian. Because of his records in test cricket, people started calling him King Kohli.
The period between 2016 and 2019 marked his golden run in Test cricket, when he averaged well above 65, scoring 14 hundreds in just 35 Tests. His 2018 performance was particularly outstanding, as he accumulated 1322 runs, his highest in a calendar year.
The Captain Who Transformed Indian Cricket
Kohli took over the Test captaincy reins from MS Dhoni in 2014 and led India through an extremely successful eight-year tenure. In 68 matches as skipper, Kohli guided India to 40 Test wins, making him the most successful Indian Test captain ever.
Only Graeme Smith (53), Ricky Ponting (48), and Steve Waugh (41) have registered more Test wins among international captains.
Kohli’s 20 centuries as Test captain is second only to South Africa’s Graeme Smith, who made 25 centuries while leading his country.
Perhaps his greatest achievement as captain came in 2018-19 when he became the first Indian, as well as the first Asian captain, to lead his team to a Test series victory in Australia.
Recent Struggles and the Decision to Retire
Despite his illustrious career, Kohli’s form had dipped significantly in recent years. When he scored 100 not out against Australia in Perth in November 2024, it was his first Test century since July 2023.
His batting average, which once stood at 55.10 (after scoring a career-best 254 not out against South Africa in 2019), had fallen to just 32.56 over the last 24 months.
Despite starting the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a century in Perth, Kohli ended the tour on a disappointing note, amassing only 193 runs with a pattern of caught-behind dismissals hampering his game. Out of his eight dismissals on the tour, Kohli was caught outside off stump on seven occasions.
Who Will Replace Virat Kohli in the Upcoming India Tour of England?
With both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli now retired from Test cricket, India faces a leadership vacuum ahead of their five-match Test series in England starting June 20. Shubman Gill is reportedly the frontrunner to take over the captaincy.
With Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane already out of the mix, and Mohammed Shami’s form under scrutiny after returning from injury, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah remain the only experienced players linked to India’s previous era of Test cricket.
Kohli’s retirement marks the end of an era in Indian cricket, leaving a massive void both in leadership and batting prowess as the team prepares to enter a new chapter without its most influential figure of the past decade.
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