Indian legend Kohli retires from Test cricket

NEW DELHI: India great Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket on May 12 after playing 123 matches in his glorious 14-year red-ball career.

Kohli made his Test debut in 2011 against West Indies and has been India's standout batter since Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement in 2013.

“As I step away from this format, it’s not easy — but it feels right,” Kohli posted on Instagram. “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.”

The 36-year-old Kohli’s retirement comes only days after Rohit Sharma stepped down from Test cricket, taking two senior batters out of selection contention for India's tour to England. India will need to select a new skipper and reshape its batting order for the five-test series starting June 20.

Kohli scored 9,230 runs including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries at a Test batting average of 46.85. He also led India in 68 Test matches and was India’s most successful captain with 40 Test wins.

The former India captain is one of the highest-profile people in cricket, with 271 million followers on Instagram and almost 68 million on X, and he owns batting records in the longest and the limited-overs formats. He's expected to continue playing one-day international cricket, and he's still heavily involved in the lucrative Twenty20 Indian Premier League, which was suspended last Friday for a week following the escalating military tensions with Pakistan.

Kohli said the traditions and ebbs and flows of the five-day format were special to him, including “the quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever.”

“I am 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,” he wrote. "I will always look back at my Test career with a smile. #269, signing off.”

Kohli finished as India’s fourth highest scorer in Tests after Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122). He also scored the most double centuries for India in Tests — seven — one more than the legendary Tendulkar. (AP)