Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli has communicated his intention to retire from Test cricket to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), just over a month before India’s five-match ICC World Test Championship series against England begins in Leeds on June 20.
This revelation comes only two days after Kohli’s long-time opening partner Rohit Sharma announced his own decision to hang up his whites.
According to sources, Kohli, who made his Test debut against the West Indies in November 2011, has been in discussions with BCCI officials for the past month regarding the timing and formalities of his departure from the red-ball game.
If confirmed, the 35-year-old would bring to a close a 14-year Test career that produced 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 28 half-centuries.
Kohli’s finest period in Tests came between 2016 and 2019, during which he amassed 4,208 runs in 43 matches at an astonishing average of 66.79, registering 16 hundreds and 10 fifties. That purple patch cemented his reputation as one of the modern era’s premier batsmen and saw India rise to the top of the ICC rankings.
However, the past few seasons have seen a notable dip in form. In the 2020s Kohli has scored 2,028 runs in 39 Tests at an average of 30.72, with just three hundreds—most recently a gritty ton at Perth in January 2024—contrasting sharply with his earlier prolific output. His most recent Test stint, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, yielded 190 runs in nine innings at 23.75, a solitary century in Perth standing out amid otherwise modest returns.
Despite this downturn, team management and selectors are keen to retain Kohli’s experience for the England tour, especially as India adapts to new leadership. With Rohit Sharma’s retirement and Shubman Gill widely tipped to assume the Test captaincy, Kohli’s presence will be crucial in mentoring a largely fresh middle order. Alongside all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Kohli is one of the few remaining senior campaigners capable of anchoring India in challenging overseas conditions.
England holds a special place in Kohli’s Test narrative. His first tour in 2014 yielded a disappointing 134 runs in 10 innings, but he returned four years later to top the 2018 series run-charts with 593 runs at 59.30, including hundreds at Edgbaston and Lord’s. Overall, he has played 17 Tests in England, scoring 1,096 runs at 33.21, with two centuries and five fifties.
As Kohli looks to bring down the curtain on his red-ball tenure, India will bid farewell to one of its most decorated batsmen. His decision underscores a changing of the guard for a side entering a new World Test Championship cycle, even as it prepares to challenge England on their home turf.
Support our Journalism
No-nonsense journalism. No paywalls. Whether you’re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, or India, you can support The Australia Today by taking a paid subscription via Patreon or donating via PayPal — and help keep honest, fearless journalism alive.
