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Virat Kohli announces his Test retirement ahead of India's tour to England. (BCCI)Virat Kohli announced his Test retirement in an Instagram post with immediate effect on Monday, ahead of the national side’s scheduled five-match tour to England in June. The Indian cricket stalwart follows in the footsteps of Rohit Sharma in calling time on his career in the longest format of the game.
After his decision to call time on his Test career, Kohli will arguably go down as one of India’s finest batters in the longest format of the game.
Kohli scored 9230 runs in 210 innings, Kohli stands fourth on the all-time charts among Indian batters, only behind the legendary trio of Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) with 9230 runs at a 46.85 average.
Scroll down to read what Kohli wrote in his Instagram post.
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.
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.
Quitting before England Test series is a judicious ‘well left’, wrote The Indian Express’ Sandeep Dwivedi. It is another grim reminder of aging – the fittest too can get jaded, the driven too slow down and even Kings call it a day.
So after the retirements of Kohli and Rohit Sharma, what next? In the post Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era, ‘garden mey ghoomne waale log’ will have to take Test team forward, writes Sriram Veera in his piece.
“Rohit’s retirement was nudged by selectors, but they weren’t ready for Kohli’s move, and suddenly Indian Test cricket is left with a highly inexperienced team and a novice captain in all likelihood,” writes Sriram Veera in his piece.
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