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Netizens React as Virat Kohli Bids Emotional Goodbye to Test Cricket After 14 Glorious Years
By CricShots - May 12, 2025 12:48 pm
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In a surprise that left the cricket fraternity stunned, Indian batting legend Virat Kohli on Monday announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect, just weeks before India’s highly anticipated five-match series against England in June. Kohli, who has been the most influential figure in Indian cricket for more than a decade, made his tearful goodbye to the red-ball game on Instagram.

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli

“14 years ago, I wore the baggy blue for the first time in Test cricket. To be honest, I never thought about where this journey of Test cricket would lead me. It has pushed me, moulded me and taught me things that I will carry lifelong,” Kohli posted, adding a symbolic “#269, signing off” to his message — a reference to his position in India’s well-extended list of Test representatives.

Kohli’s Test journey began on June 20, 2011, in Kingston against the West Indies. Over the next 14 years, the Delhi-born batter would go on to redefine India’s batting culture with his aggressive mindset, fierce competitiveness, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Scoring 9,230 runs from 123 Tests with an average of 46.85, 29 centuries and 29 half-centuries, Kohli becomes India’s fourth-highest Test run-scorer all-time, behind legends Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar.

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From 2010 to 2019, Kohli was India’s batting pulse, accumulating 7,202 runs at a rate of almost 55 — the record 27 centuries in that period. But his form has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic, getting just 2,028 runs in 68 innings since 2020 at a rate of 30.72 — the lowest among 24 batsmen who’ve scored more than 2,000 runs in that time.

 

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As captain, Virat Kohli was a game-changer. Stepping into the shoes of MS Dhoni in 2014, he captained India in 68 Tests and won 40 — the most by an Indian captain. The world over, only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh have done better in terms of Test victories. With 5,864 runs and 20 centuries in captaincy whites, Kohli is one of the best to captain in whites.

Despite starting the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a century in Perth, Kohli’s campaign unravelled quickly. He managed just 193 runs across the series, falling seven times to deliveries outside off stump — a weakness reminiscent of earlier struggles. Speaking candidly about the mental toll of that series, Kohli admitted to letting external expectations creep in.

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You begin weighing yourself down more than you must. That’s something I found myself doing in Australia,” he explained. “It’s about embracing what has occurred, being truthful with yourself, and choosing where you go from there.

For a man who led with emotion, batted with intensity, and inspired a generation, Virat Kohli’s departure from Test cricket marks the end of a golden era — but his legacy will continue to echo in Indian cricket for generations to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags farewellIndian cricketretirementTest careerTest cricketTest statsvirat kohli

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