Star India batter Virat Kohli left fans heartbroken on Monday when he announced his retirement from Test cricket. The 36-year-old, who made his Test debut in 2011, played 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with a highest score of 254. This news struck fans and Indian selectors as a double blow, coming just days after skipper Rohit Sharma also stepped away from the longest format. With both greats ending their Test careers, selectors now face a challenging task in picking a squad for the upcoming five-match series against England.
Here are the Live Updates from Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement:
Kohli misses 10k-run mark
Virat Kohli scored just 100 runs during his mainly lackluster trip of Australia for his final Test assignment. He finishes his career far short of the 10,000-run milestone, which was once thought to be a formality. With seven double hundreds, the most for an Indian and much more than the legendary trio of Rahul Dravid (5), Virender Sehwag (6), Sachin Tendulkar (6), and Sunil Gavaskar (4), the right-hander nonetheless leaves the game as a titan.
Here’s what Kohli said
“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,” he wrote on social media.
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