Virat Kohli Retires From Test Cricket With Immediate Effect

Talismanic India batter Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. (More Cricket News)

Kohli wrote on his Instagram account: "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."

Virat Kohli concludes a remarkable red-ball journey that spanned 123 matches and yielded 9230 runs, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. His decision comes barely a week after Rohit Sharma’s unexpected retirement from Test cricket, marking the end of an era for Indian batting in the longest format.

Kohli’s Test story began in 2011 against the West Indies, but it was during the grueling 2011-12 tour of Australia that he truly came of age. Amidst collective batting failures, Kohli stood tall, culminating the series with a magnificent maiden hundred — 116 at Adelaide — which signaled his arrival as a mainstay in the Indian Test side.

As captain, Kohli transformed India into a dominant red-ball force, leading them in 68 Tests and winning 40 — the most by any Indian skipper and fourth-most overall in Test history, behind only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh.

His leadership saw India climb to the top of the Test rankings, win overseas, and develop a formidable pace-bowling arsenal. With 30 Test hundreds, Kohli finishes as India’s fourth-highest century-maker behind Tendulkar, Dravid, and Gavaskar.

His seven double centuries remain an Indian record, and his 20 Test tons as captain stand far ahead of Gavaskar’s 11.