Overview
- Virat Kohli, who announced his Test retirement on May 12, 2025 via Instagram, capped a 14-year red-ball career that changed how India approached the format.
- He ended with 9,230 runs in 123 Tests with 30 centuries, finishing about 770 short of the 10,000 mark that still fuels debate about what might have been.
- As captain from 2014 to 2022, he logged 40 wins in 68 Tests and led India to a breakthrough series victory in Australia, pushing a fitness-first, fast-bowling culture.
- Since stepping away, he has scored 616 runs in 9 ODIs at an average of 88 and a strike rate of 106, with reports pointing to a June home return against Afghanistan and an expected role at the 2027 World Cup.
- Fans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru shared tributes on the anniversary, and Kohli had earlier joked that frequent beard coloring told him it was time to leave Tests.