Virat Kohli Retires, But Not Before Revolutionizing Test Cricket

Seldom does one find Indian cricketers having a transformational effect on the popular psyche as Virat Kohli does. When he announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday morning through a social media post, it signalled the end of an era in Indian cricket. The last Indian cricketer who had a similar huge impact on the national consciousness was Sachin Tendulkar, and through his incredible career in Test cricket, Kohli has been a shapeshifter of sorts.

An embodiment of the pursuit of excellence in the five-day format of the game, especially along with the white-ball versions of the sport. With a staggering 9230 runs with 30 hundreds and an average of 46.85 in 123 Tests, the former Indian captain is a behemoth in the longest format of the sport. Add to that the simple yet significant stat of seven double hundreds in Tests, the highest by an Indian batter, leaving behind fellow greats such as Tendulkar (6), Virender Sehwag (6), Rahul Dravid (5), and Sunil Gavaskar (4).

Several observers may still feel that it was prudent for Kohli to retire when he perhaps maintains the requisite fitness levels, but his batting chops are not necessarily the best at this point in time, as it was during his golden period between 2016-2018. The icon’s last Test campaign came against Australia away in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he could muster just one century, and India came out on the losing side. Kohli, the captain, is what he will be remembered for a long time, considering the exponential impact he had on the Indian Test side.

With 40 victories in 68 matches, the Delhi man is indisputably India’s most successful captain in Test cricket. Under him, India famously won its first away Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the 2018-19 tour, and an added highlight is him leading the nation to 11 home Test series wins, a spectacular achievement. Beyond the stats and numbers, it’s the mindset and attitude that Kohli infused into the Indian team that he will long be remembered for.

The aggressive, go-getting, fearless attitude that he epitomised rubbed off on the rest of the side and especially on India’s pace bowling attack on away tours. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj would vouch for the support they got from captain Kohli on the England tour in 2021. Having a storied and packed trophy cabinet at home, Kohli’s focus would now solely be on the 2027 ODI World Cup, where he would dream of going out on a high. The legend’s emphasis on high levels of fitness and bringing in that culture into the Indian cricketing set up during his captaincy tenure had an impact on the team’s successful performances.

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