Virat Kholi announces Test retirement after 14 years of career

“As I step away from this format, it’s not easy – but it feels right,” Virat Kohli says in a note on his social media handle

Table of Contents

Virat Kholi has annouced his retirement from test cricket after 14 years as he played 123- Tests 68 as a caption of Indian Test Cricket Teams. In which he scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.

“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,” Kohli said in a social media statement on Monday morning. “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.Virat writes this emotional and beautiful note on his Instagram handle and takes retirement from his Test career.

Debut of Virat Kholi in Indian Test Cricket

He made his Test debut on India’s tour of the West Indies in mid-2011, and after a quiet start in Kingston, where he scored 4 and 15, he totaled 76 runs in five innings on that tour. Kohli first showed his ability against the West Indies at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium later that year, scoring 52 and 63. It was a struggle initially , where India lost 4-0, but Kohli finished the series on a high, scoring his first Test century in the Adelaide Test.

Kohli’s first really big Test series was also in Australia, in 2014-15, when he scored twin centuries in Adelaide and followed it up with centuries in Melbourne and Sydney to 692 runs for the series at an average of 86.50. He was also India’s Test captain at that time. MS Dhoni was the designated captain but missed the first Test because of a thumb injury.

Year	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	100s	50s	200s
2011	9	9	202	22.44	0	2	0
2012	16	16	689	49.21	3	3	0
2013	12	12	616	56	2	3	0
2014	20	20	847	44.58	4	2	0
2015	15	15	640	42.67	2	2	0
2016	18	18	1215	75.94	4	2	3
2017	16	16	1059	75.64	5	1	3
2018	24	24	1322	55.08	5	5	0
2019	11	11	612	68	2	2	1
2020	6	6	116	19.33	0	1	0
2021	19	19	536	28.21	0	4	0
2022	11	11	265	26.5	0	1	0
2023	12	12	671	55.91	2	2	0
2024	19	19	417	24.52	1	1	0
2025	1	1	23	11.5	0	0	0

Virat Kohli’s Test captainship

Virat is the most successful Test captain of all time in Indian Test cricket. He played 68 matches as a captain, in which India won 40 matches, lost 11, and drew 11. On the other hand, Dhoni played 60 matches as a captain and won 27, while Sourav Ganguly played 49 matches as a captain and won 21 matches. His captaincy debut during the 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he scored 115 and 141 in the two innings in Adelaide against Australia, becoming the first Indian captain to achieve twin centuries on captaincy debut.

Virat Kholi as a caption matches timeline :

Opponent	Matches	Wins	Losses	Draws
England	18	10	6	2
South Africa	12	8	3	1
Australia	10	3	4	3
Sri Lanka	9	6	1	2
West Indies	8	6	0	2
New Zealand	7	4	3	0
Bangladesh	4	3	0	1
Total	68	40	17	11

He stands fourth in India’s all-time list of Test run scorers and has a highest total of 254 not out against South Africa in 2019.Virat played 123 Test matches, where he scored 9230 runs and 30 centuries. It’s very hard to say goodbye to his beautiful and big Test career empire that he made, but as he says, “It’s not easy—but it feels right.” So goodbye, King Kohli. See you in ODIs.