A file image of Virat Kohli
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Great players offer hope and make us believe in sporting miracles. For a large part of his Test career, Virat Kohli was all this and much more. Having called time on his association with cricket’s longest format on Monday (May 12, 2025), the end of an era is obvious for Indian cricket.
A quartet of significant batters will no longer feature together in Tests. Last week, Rohit Sharma bowed out. The selectors have seemingly moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, and now Kohli has quit too. The dual exit of Rohit and Kohli mirrors the twilight march of Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman in 2012.
Kohli the batter kept pursuing runs against all odds. Tougher the battle, the bigger his heart was. Having taken first strike in whites in 2011, the Delhi lad took a while to settle but he was here for the long haul.
The longevity is evident in his numbers: 123 Tests, 9230 runs, 30 tons and an average of 46.85. The last statistic was over 50, the gold-standard for great batters, but dipped as his form waned. However, his fitness and fielding remained top-notch all through.
During the last Australia tour, after a century in the first Test at Perth, he tapered off. Yet, in the nets, he did multiple stints, keen to iron out the chinks. Through his career, he had all the shots. The cover-drive was from heaven and the swivel-pulls were adrenaline-soaked.
It is never easy to step in at number four for India, a spot made special by Sachin Tendulkar, but Kohli carved his space. Much like Javed Miandad, who hustled his singles and twos and quickly moved to his 30s, Kohli was the eager-beaver. Get the eye in, stay busy, dominate and accumulate, was his template.
He was evangelical about his love for Tests and it was evident in the manner in which he batted and in the way he led India. The 40 triumphs in the 68 Tests he marshalled his unit, the most by an Indian skipper, reveals a captain always moving the game forward. He forged a strong bond with coach Ravi Shastri, and India soared.
Thrown a challenge like when James Anderson tested him in 2014, he neutralised the pacer in 2018. However, over the last few seasons, a propensity to flex outside the off-stump undid him. Kohli tried hard but time and tide wait for none.
At 36 and in the blue shade, he will turn up in ODIs, besides playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL. In Tests, India will miss his presence and boisterous energy. To finish fourth among Indian Test run-getters after Tendulkar, Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar, is special. Kohli will be missed.
Published – May 12, 2025 02:47 pm IST