Virat Kohli's Surprising Retirement from Test Cricket: A Year Later

A Year Since Kohli's Retirement Announcement

On May 12, 2025, Virat Kohli made headlines by announcing his unexpected retirement from Test cricket. The Indian cricket icon took to Instagram to share an emotional message marking the conclusion of his red-ball career. Two months post-retirement, Kohli opened up about his decision, humorously stating, "I just coloured my beard two days ago. You know it's time when you are colouring your beard every four days," during an event. He concluded his Test journey with an impressive tally of 9,230 runs across 123 matches, maintaining an average of 46.85, which included 30 centuries and 51 half-centuries. Kohli fell just 770 runs short of the coveted 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket, a feat achieved by only two other Indians, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, in two formats.

Virat Kohli's Test Cricket Journey

Virat Kohli's journey in Test cricket

After making his ODI debut, Kohli received his first Test call-up and traveled to the West Indies, where he faced challenges and was subsequently dropped. He returned as a substitute during the England series but remained on the sidelines. Following two home Tests against the West Indies in 2011, Kohli finally got his chance in the third match. He was chosen over Rohit Sharma for the playing XI in the 2011/12 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Despite selectors wanting to replace him with Rohit, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag supported Kohli, who responded with scores of 44 and 75 in Perth, eventually achieving his first Test century in Adelaide. From that point on, Kohli became a mainstay in the team, succeeding MS Dhoni as India's Test captain during the 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With 40 victories in 68 Tests, he concluded his career as India's most successful Test captain, leading the team to become the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia in 2018, while only losing two home Tests under his leadership.