Virat Kohli Considers Retirement from Test Cricket Ahead of England Tour
Kohli's Potential Exit from Test Cricket
Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is reportedly contemplating retiring from Test cricket prior to the upcoming tour of England scheduled for July.
Recently, Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, stepped away from Test cricket after being removed from his captaincy role just before the selection for the five-match Test series against England. Both Sharma and Kohli participated in IPL 2025, which has been temporarily suspended due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan. Their last match was during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy held in January.
Kohli's most recent Test match was in Sydney, where he scored 17 and 6 in his two innings. After a strong performance in the opening Test in Perth, where he scored a century, the 36-year-old struggled with consistency, accumulating only 190 runs at an average of 23.75 over nine innings.
BCCI Urges Kohli to Reconsider
According to a source close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Kohli has communicated his intention to retire from Test cricket. However, the board has encouraged him to rethink this decision, especially with the important England tour approaching.
"He has made his decision known and informed the board that he is moving on from Test cricket. The BCCI has urged him to reconsider, given the significance of the upcoming England tour. He has yet to respond to this request," the source stated.
🚨 VIRAT KOHLI WANTS TO RETIRE FROM TEST CRICKET. 🚨- Virat communicated to the BCCI that he wants to retire from Tests, but the team management expects his experience to be crucial on the England tour. (Espncricinfo).
Impact of Kohli's Potential Retirement
Reports indicate that Kohli's decision to retire stems from his recent struggles during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, despite a century in the Perth opener. Should he proceed with his retirement, Team India may face challenges with a relatively inexperienced batting lineup, featuring only Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant as the players with significant experience in overseas conditions, which could leave India's batting vulnerable on England's seaming pitches.
During England's last tour of India for a five-match Test series, Kohli opted out due to the birth of his second child, a son named Akaay Kohli, in London. In the previous Test series in England in 2021/22, Kohli had a modest performance, scoring 249 runs, including two fifties, at an average of 27.66 across nine innings.
Kohli's Test Career Highlights
Virat Kohli made his Test debut for India against the West Indies in 2011 and has since become one of the country's premier batters in this format. He ranks as the fourth highest run-scorer for India in Test cricket, with a total of 9,230 runs, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, at an average of 46.85 over 123 matches.
Kohli captained the Indian Test team from 2011 until he stepped down following a series defeat against South Africa in 2022. He holds the record for the most successful Indian Test captain, achieving 40 wins in 68 matches, with a win percentage of 58.82. Additionally, he is the highest run-scorer for India as a Test captain, accumulating 5,864 runs, including 20 centuries and 18 fifties, at an average of 54.80 across 113 innings.
Kohli also made history as the first Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia, leading India to victory in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2019.
It remains uncertain whether Kohli will heed the BCCI's request and delay his retirement to participate in one last significant Test series in England or if he will choose to retire from the red-ball format on his own terms.