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India great Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket

India great Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket

Yahoo12-05-2025
India great Virat Kohli has announced his retirement from Test cricket.
The 36-year-old stands fourth in India's all-time list of Test run scorers.
His decision comes just days after Rohit Sharma, who succeeded Kohli as skipper, also retired from the game's longest format - and before India start a five-match Test series against England on 20 June.
In a post on Instagram, Kohli said his decision to step away was "not easy - but it feels right".
Kohli, who made his debut in the red-ball format in 2011, scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries, establishing a batting average of 46.85.
He also led India in 68 Test matches and became his country's most successful captain with 40 Test wins.
Confirming his retirement, 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."
Read more from Sky News:
Kohli added: "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."
Former India cricket player Irfan Pathan hailed Kohli's "phenomenal Test career".
"As captain, you didn't just win matches - you changed mindsets," he posted on X.
"You made fitness, aggression, and pride in whites the new standard. A true torchbearer of modern Indian Test cricket."
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