Ahead of the crucial five-match series in England starting on June 20, for which he is expected to be included in the squad, Virat Kohli has informed the BCCI of his intention to retire from Test cricket. According to ESPNcricinfo, Kohli has been speaking with BCCI authorities about this for the last month.
Kohli will end a spectacular 14-year career that includes 123 Test matches, 68 of which he played as captain, and 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 if he doesn’t alter his mind.
However, Kohli hasn’t had a very successful run in the format lately. He achieved his first century in Test cricket since July 2023 (against the West Indies in Port of Spain) when he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test in November 2024. His average, which peaked at 55.10 following his career-best 254 not out against South Africa in Pune in 2019, has been 32.56 over the past 24 months.
India will also be playing under a new captain, Shubman Gill, who is the front-runner to succeed Rohit Sharma after the latter retired from Test cricket earlier this week. Despite this, team management and selectors believe that his experience is essential for the tour.
In the latest BCCI contracts, Kohli and Rohit secured positions in the highest category (A+), typically reserved for players who participate in all three formats of international cricket. Following India’s World Cup victory last year, both Rohit and Kohli had resigned from Twenty20 Internationals. If Kohli does retire from Test cricket, they will only be eligible for ODI matches moving ahead.
R Ashwin, who resigned from international cricket during the 2024–25 series in Australia, is the only player missing from India besides Rohit. Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah are the only senior players available, as Mohammed Shami’s fitness remains in question following his return from a lengthy injury layoff. Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are no longer in contention.
India won 40 of the 68 matches under Kohli’s leadership and lost only 17 before Rohit took over as Test captain. In addition to ranking fourth on the list of captains with the most Test victories, behind Graeme Smith (53 from 109), Ricky Ponting (48 from 77), and Steve Waugh (41 from 57), Kohli’s 40 victories make him India’s most successful Test captain of all time. Sourav Ganguly, with 21 from 49, and MS Dhoni, with 27 from 60, rank below him.
One of Kohli’s biggest Test-batting peaks occurred during the 2018 tour of England. In the five Test matches, he amassed 583 runs at an average of 59.30, including two hundreds, making him the leading scorer for both teams. The achievement became even more memorable because it followed a 2014 tour during which he managed only 134 runs in 10 innings. In terms of total runs for a year, 2018 was also his greatest year, scoring 1322.
Between 2016 and 2018, Kohli amassed 3596 runs at an average of 66.59 in 35 Test matches, with eight fifties and 14 hundreds in 58 innings.
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