Star India batter Virat Kohli announced his Test retirement on Monday, May 12. He played 123 matches in the longest format, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. Even though he hasn’t scored over 10,000 runs, Kohli will be remembered forever in red-ball cricket.
Virat Kohli announced his Test retirement on May 12, 2025. The 36-year-old redefined Test cricket and is the most successful Indian captain in the longest format of the game, winning 40 out of 68 matches. He has represented the national team in 123 games, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. The numbers may look less impressive, do justice to the legend of Kohli, especially by the standard that Kohli set, but it is the same cricketer who averaged 54.97 after 84 Tests and had 7202 runs to his name in 2019.
Since that, Kohli’s numbers dropped significantly. He entered a rough patch and showed glimpses of class on a few occasions, but never succeeded in reaching the same level. He struggled and struggled hard to play the deliveries that were directed towards the off stumps or nearby areas, but even after all that, Kohli will be remembered as one of the greatest Indian cricketers to have graced the format.
One in the future might look for why! Why Kohli will be remembered by generations, and as long as there’s Test cricket?
1. Redefined Test cricket
Test cricket was dying at one stage. There was not much interest among the younger audience, and the grounds were mostly empty. Kohli played a major role in changing that as he built a template that intrigued the fans to follow red-ball cricket extremely passionately. He brought the fire and energy to the field and played an aggressive brand of cricket that helped India establish their authority in the longest format. Under Kohli, India were the number-one ranked Test team for several years, and that redefined India’s approach in Test cricket.
2. Built India’s bowling unit
India had legendary bowlers such as Kapil Dev, Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath, but never an entire bowling unit. Kohli was successful in building that. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma dominated the format and played a major role in India’s success. It also introduced a culture in Indian cricket as the country hasn’t been short of quality pacers since.
3. Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
Kohli was never shy of giving it back. The Australian media and fans created a hostile situation for India time and again, but could never faze the former India captain. When he was young, Kohli even flicked at the crowd and handled the media pressure with style. On the field, Kohli was known for his aggressive attitude and never allowed the opponent batters to settle down. His speech of ‘for 60 minutes they should feel hell out there’ defines Kohli’s legacy as captain
