Virat’s best years coincided with captaincy and he retires as India’s fourth highest run-getter in Tests.
It is the end of an era in Indian cricket. Virat Kohli, the great champion of Test cricket, has called time on the longest format of the game. Kohli informed the BCCI of his intention to retire, and the Indian cricket board’s efforts to convince him otherwise fell flat. It brings curtains on a glorious 14-year career, with the 36-year-old having breached some of the highest peaks.
Virat succeeded Sachin Tendulkar at No.4 and made that spot his own for more than a decade. He retires as India’s fourth-highest run-getter in Test cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar. He captained India in 68 Tests before stepping down in 2022, leading the Men in Blue to 40 wins. As a batter, Kohli’s returns dwindled over the years, but he did serve up some classics, including a century in Perth last December. The India vs England series could have been his last, but Virat called it quits before the selectors named the squad.
Virat Kohli Test career highlights
- Matches: 123
- Innings: 210
- Runs: 9230
- Debut: 2011 vs West Indies
- Avg: 46.85
- 100/50: 30/31
- 4s/6s: 1027/30
Kohli’s career in phases
| Period | Tests | Inns | Runs | Ave | 100s/50s |
| Debut to Sep 2014 | 29 | 51 | 1855 | 39.46 | 6/9 |
| Oct 2014 to Dec 2019 | 55 | 90 | 5347 | 63.65 | 21/13 |
| Since Jan 2020 | 39 | 69 | 2028 | 30.72 | 3/9 |
Virat Kohli, the batter
Virat Kohli’s career could be defined in three phases. After struggling on his debut, he came into his own with a century in Adelaide in India’s 4-0 loss to Australia. He started his career batting at No.5 and 6, and eventually took over from Sachin Tendulkar at No.4. He was looked at as one of the best bats of his generation, forming a Fab Four alongside Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root. His first tour of England was a nightmare, scoring just 134 runs in 5 Tests. In his first 29 Tests, Virat averaged 39.46, scoring 9 fifties and 6 hundreds. Kohli
Captain, leader and run-machine
Virat Kohli bounced back from the disappointment in England in resounding fashion. Stepping in for MS Dhoni, Kohli scored twin hundreds in Adelaide, and added two more in Melbourne and Sydney. He aggregated 692 runs at an average of 86.50 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and assumed captaincy after Dhoni’s retirement.
In what was his best phase as a player, Virat Kohli scored 6 double hundreds in the space of 18 months. The Indian captain averaged 63.65 in this period, scoring 5347 in 55 Tests. Kohli turned up on away tours, scoring a fighting century in Johannesburg. He conquered England in 2018 with a record-breaking 593 runs at an average of 59.30, including two hundreds and three fifties. He is the only player, alongside Rahul Dravid, to have scored more than 500 in a series both in England and Australia.
Kohli the batsman vs Kohli the captain
| Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s | 50s | |
| As Captain | 68 | 5864 | 254* | 54.8 | 20 | 18 |
| Without Captaincy | 55 | 3366 | 186 | 37.4 | 10 | 13 |
Virat’s best years coincided with captaincy, and his 20 centuries are only second to Graeme Smith’s 25 for South Africa as skipper. While he plundered runs, Kohli built an all-conquering pace bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav all thrived under the RCB icon’s leadership. He is India’s most successful captain with 40 wins in 68 Tests. Overall, Kohli is only behind Graeme Smith (53), Ricky Ponting (48), and Steve Waugh (41) in terms of Test wins as captain.
Virat Kohli captaincy record
| Captain | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 58.82 |
| MS Dhoni | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 45.00 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 49 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 42.86 |
The end
Virat Kohli had a near-perfect Test career as captain and batter, but the latter years of his career have been a blot on his record. Kohli had 27 Test centuries at the end of 2019, and in the 5 years since, he could only add 3 more to his name. His average in the high 50s once dropped to 46.85 at the end of his career. Since January 2020, Virat has averaged only 30 in the format. His issues with the moving ball returned while he became vulnerable to spin. Once the fierce warrior leading India’s charge, Kohli became a mere mortal. He resigned as captain after the South Africa series in 2022, with Rohit Sharma taking over. That did not aid his batting fortunes, and he eventually quits the format he held dearest to his heart.
Despite his runs slowing down. Kohli leaves a massive hole in the Indian line-up. The 36-year-old is box office and with the Indian team heading into a new direction, Virat will be an asset they will come to miss dearly. He averages more than 50 at number 4 despite his middling returns, a spot Gautam Gambhir and the selectors will find hard to fill.
Virat Kohli by batting position
| Batting position | Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s |
| No.3 | 8 | 167 | 70 | 23.85 | 58.39 | 0 | 1 |
| No.4 | 160 | 7564 | 254* | 50.09 | 56.88 | 26 | 21 |
| No.5 | 32 | 1084 | 107 | 37.37 | 48.82 | 3 | 6 |
| No.6 | 9 | 404 | 116 | 44.88 | 51.59 | 1 | 3 |
| No.7 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 52.38 | 0 | 0 |
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Virat Kohli retires with 6 blemishes on his otherwise near-perfect Test legacy
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