Indian cricket star Virat Kohli has officially announced his retirement from Test cricket, ending weeks of speculation. He shared the news in an emotional Instagram post, saying the decision wasn’t easy but felt right. Kohli’s retirement comes soon after Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin also stepped away from the format.
Kohli looked back on his 14-year journey in Test cricket with pride. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue. This format tested me, shaped me, and taught me life lessons. Playing in whites is deeply personal—the long days, the quiet moments, they stay with you,” he wrote.
He added that he gave everything to the game and is walking away with a heart full of gratitude—for the sport, his teammates, and the fans who supported him.
Kohli played 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85. He hit 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with a top score of 254. While he ruled the game both at home and abroad, he fell just short of the 10,000-run milestone in Tests.
With this move, Kohli becomes the third senior Indian player to retire from Tests in recent months, following Ashwin and Rohit.
