Virat Kohli on Monday announced his retirement from Test cricket. This comes days after a report saying he has informed the BCCI of his desire to retire from the format.
The 36-year-old wrote a heartfelt post on Instagram announcing his decision.
"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.
"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," he added.
The former captain that the decision was not easy, but it is right, adding that he has given everything he had in him to the longest format of the game.
"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."
Last week, captain Rohit Sharma had announced his retirement from Test cricket. The two batting greats had called it a day in T20Is after winning the World Cup last year. The two will now represent India only in ODIs and might play in the 2027 World Cup that will be held in South Africa.
Kohli’s retirement means India would travel to England with a depleted middle order for the five-match Test series next month.
The BCCI in a post on X thanked Kohli for his contributions to Indian cricket.
Virat Kohli Test legacy
Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, eventually becoming the skipper three years later. He represented India in 123 Test matches, scoring 9,230 runs, including 30 centuries and 31 half centuries. He had an average of 46.9 in the red-ball format.
The batting great has been India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 Tests that he led in. He led India to a historic Test series win in 2018-19 and drew a series in England in 2021-22. The Indian team remained unbeaten under his captaincy at home .
His last Test was in Australia (Sydney), in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, earlier this year, a game that the hosts won by six wickets, ending the series 3-1 in their favour.
In his 14-year Test career, Kohli went on to become the fourth-highest run-getter for India, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar.
However, the 36-year-old has lately struggled for consistency, especially in his last tour to Australia. He hit just century and scored 190 runs in nine innings in his final series.
"If you ask me the intensity of how disappointed I felt, for me, the most recent Australia tour would be the one that’s most fresh. So it might feel the most intense to me,” Kohli had recently said in a Royal Challengers Bengaluru Summit.
“For a long period of time the tour of England in 2014 was the thing that bothered me the most,” he said.
“But I can’t look at it that way. I might not have an Australia tour again in me, in four years’ time, I don’t know,” he had added.
The 36-year-old wrote a heartfelt post on Instagram announcing his decision.
"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.
"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," he added.
The former captain that the decision was not easy, but it is right, adding that he has given everything he had in him to the longest format of the game.
"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."
Last week, captain Rohit Sharma had announced his retirement from Test cricket. The two batting greats had called it a day in T20Is after winning the World Cup last year. The two will now represent India only in ODIs and might play in the 2027 World Cup that will be held in South Africa.
Kohli’s retirement means India would travel to England with a depleted middle order for the five-match Test series next month.
The BCCI in a post on X thanked Kohli for his contributions to Indian cricket.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝗼𝗵𝗹𝗶! 🙌
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 12, 2025
An era ends in Test cricket but the legacy will continue FOREVER! 🫡🫡@imVkohli, the former Team India Captain retires from Test cricket.
His contributions to #TeamIndia will forever be cherished! 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/MSe5KUtjep
Virat Kohli Test legacy
Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, eventually becoming the skipper three years later. He represented India in 123 Test matches, scoring 9,230 runs, including 30 centuries and 31 half centuries. He had an average of 46.9 in the red-ball format.
The batting great has been India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 Tests that he led in. He led India to a historic Test series win in 2018-19 and drew a series in England in 2021-22. The Indian team remained unbeaten under his captaincy at home .
His last Test was in Australia (Sydney), in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, earlier this year, a game that the hosts won by six wickets, ending the series 3-1 in their favour.
In his 14-year Test career, Kohli went on to become the fourth-highest run-getter for India, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar.
However, the 36-year-old has lately struggled for consistency, especially in his last tour to Australia. He hit just century and scored 190 runs in nine innings in his final series.
"If you ask me the intensity of how disappointed I felt, for me, the most recent Australia tour would be the one that’s most fresh. So it might feel the most intense to me,” Kohli had recently said in a Royal Challengers Bengaluru Summit.
“For a long period of time the tour of England in 2014 was the thing that bothered me the most,” he said.
“But I can’t look at it that way. I might not have an Australia tour again in me, in four years’ time, I don’t know,” he had added.
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