- By Gurmeet Batra
- Sat, 10 May 2025 09:11 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Virat Kohli Test Retirement: India's batting stalwart Virat Kohli has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of his wish to retire from Test cricket before the tour of England.
According to a report by the Indian Express, after much deliberation, Kohli notified the BCCI of his readiness to close the red-ball chapter of his career.
“He has made up his mind and has informed the board that he is moving on from Test cricket. The BCCI has urged him to rethink as the crucial England tour is coming up. He is yet to revert on the request,” sources told this newspaper.
However, a senior BCCI official has urged Kohli to review his decision after the former captain told BCCI of his willingness to retire from Test cricket.
This development came just days after India captain Rohit Sharma announced his sudden decision to retire from the longest format of cricket with immediate effect. Notably, both Kohli and Rohit have bought curtains down on their T20I career after India's triumph T20 World Cup campaign.
With the five-Test England tour starting on 20 June, the selection committee is scheduled to finalise the red-ball squad and if Kohli goes ahead with his decision, then it will leave the Indian team with a largely inexperienced middle-order.
This situation will leave India with wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, Shubman Gill , and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, and Rishabh Pant later down the order.
According to the reports, following a lean run in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia earlier this year, Kohli has been pondering his Test future.
The right-handed batter, who has 30 hundreds to his name, recorded only 190 runs in 5 matches of BGT, with one century coming in India's win in the first Test.
Meanwhile, the 36-year-old Kohli has played 123 Tests for India, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85. However, his purple patch in the Test ended as his average dipped in the last five years, accumulating 1,990 runs in 37 games with three centuries.
Besides, the India squad will be without the oversight of two seasoned prolific players, who have led the side to glory in many series for nearly 11 years till now. Kohli, who has already retired from T20IS, took the helm of India's Test captaincy in December 2014 followed by Rohit in February 2022.