India’s batting great Virat Kohli on Monday (May 12) made a surprise announcement that he is retiring from Test cricket. The move comes ahead of India’s five-Test tour to England next month.

Also read: Who said what on Kohli’s Test retirement

The 36-year-old brought the curtains down on his illustrious 14-year journey in the longest format of the game. Kohli, who admitted that it wasn’t an easy call to make, featured in 123 Tests for India, scoring 9,230 runs with 30 hundreds and 31 half centuries at an average of 46.85.

Kohli to continue playing ODIs

After retiring from T20Is last year after winning the ICC T20 World Cup, Kohli has now moved away from Test cricket. However, he will continue to play in the ODI format.

Kohli made his Test debut for India on June 20, 2011, against the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. His last Test was against Australia in Sydney in January earlier this year.

He scored his maiden Test century in January 2012, against Australia at the Adelaide Oval where he played a determined knock of 116 runs, celebrating his first hundred in Test cricket.

From 2016 to 2018, Kohli enjoyed a golden run in Tests, averaging over 75 for two consecutive years and scoring 14 of his 30 hundreds in these three years.

His form dipped considerably in the past four years, and he stepped down from captaincy in 2022 following a series defeat in South Africa.

During his Test career from 2011 to 2025, Kohli set several batting and captaincy records.

Here are Kohli’s achievements/records in Test cricket

• Virat Kohli finished as the fourth-highest run-getter for India in Tests, scoring 9230 runs from 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, hitting 30 hundreds and 31 fifties
• Kohli set a record as the Indian batter with the most number of double centuries in Test cricket, scoring 7, ahead of the legendary quartet of Sunil Gavaskar (4), Sachin Tendulkar (6), Virender Sehwag (6), and Rahul Dravid (5)
• Kohli also has the record for most Test runs as an Indian captain, with 5,864 runs in 68 matches (113 innings) at an excellent average of 54.80, including 20 centuries and 18 fifties
• Kohli’s highest Test score was an unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019
• Under his leadership, India ascended to the No. 1 ranking and stayed at the pinnacle for 42 consecutive months
• At home, India remained unbeaten in a Test series under his captaincy and won 10 of the 11 series he led in
• Kohli holds the record for leading India in the most Test matches, captaining the team in 68 games. Under his leadership, India won 40 matches, which is the highest by any Indian Test Captain
• In the 2018-19 season, Kohli led India to a historic 2-1 series victory over Australia, marking the team’s first-ever Test series win on Australian soil and ending a 71-year-long wait
• Kohli made a stunning debut as India’s Test Captain in 2014 against Australia in Adelaide. He made history by becoming only the 4th Indian batter to score a century in both innings of a Test, with brilliant knocks of 115 and 141 in the 2014/15 season
• Kohli guided India to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final in the 2019-21 cycle (Runner-up)