Virat Kohli has made a surprising call to end his Test career a month before India arrive in England for a five-match series.
“It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” “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.
Kohli: BBC Sport
Kohli made his Test debut in the West Indies in 2011.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn his 123 Tests, he scored 9,230 runs, averaging 46.85, along with 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
He also scored seven double centuries, his best of 254 against South Africa in Pune 2019.
Embed from Getty ImagesIndia’s Greatest Ever Test Captain
Embed from Getty ImagesKohli captained India in 68 Tests, winning 40 of them.
India’s series win in Australia 2018-19 was its first Test series victory in a SENA country since England 2007.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe was also the second Indian captain to take India to the top of the ICC Test rankings after Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2009.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnfortunately, India could not win the Inaugural World Test Championship Final, as New Zealand beat them by eight wickets.
Embed from Getty ImagesFitness is A Big Priority
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of the key attributes that makes Kohli the player that he is is his level of fitness. This was one of his biggest priorities as a captain, and he wanted everyone to be super fit like him.
As Test Cricket lasts for five days, your body must be capable of lasting that long, especially if you want to win the match.
Thus, he was adamant that his side was as fit as ever to be a dominant force in cricket.
Era Of Indian Fast Bowling
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of Kohli’s priorities as Captain was to make India competitive in Tests outside India. One of the first things that he and Coach Ravi Shastri did was to find a core of high-quality fast bowlers who were capable of taking wickets in all conditions, especially outside India.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe introduction of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in 2008 and 2011 started India’s evolution of fast bowling. But it wasn’t until Jasprit Bumrah, who made his debut in South Africa in 2018, that fast bowling in India reached another level.
Embed from Getty ImagesFab Four
Embed from Getty ImagesTest cricket has had many eras of great batsmen, from Alan Border, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards, and Graham Gooch, to Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, and Kumar Sangakkara, and now Joe Root, Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson.
What was so good about those eras was the amount of respect they had for one another.
It was also impressive that they were at their peak as captains.
Kohli also scored 5,864 runs at an average of 54.80 as Captain, which is the most by an Indian captain.
Root was not far behind, with 5,295 at 46.45, followed by Smith with 4,149 at 68.98, and Kane Williamson scoring 3,331 at 57.43.
But what makes those four players stand out is their hunger and passion for Test cricket and their desire to win games for their country.
This is what separates good players from the greats. It is the players who have the most passion for the sport who tend to achieve greatness in it.
All four of these players have one thing in common: They are so committed to the sport, even when they train.
It may be the end of a great era of Test cricket, but Virat Kohli’s name will forever be remembered in its pages of history.
For more information on Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket, visit World In Sport.