Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket came as a shock to the cricketing world, as many thought he still had in him to play a few more years in the longest format.
Kohli has often rated Test cricket as the format he cherishes the most and enjoys playing the most, but his numbers have gone drastically down in the past five years in red-ball cricket. The pressure was mounting on him after an underwhelming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he managed to get just 190 runs in 5 Tests.
He finished his illustrious Test career with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties in 210 innings and the best score of 254*. He finished as the fourth-highest run-getter for India in Tests after Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Rahul Dravid (13,265 runs) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs).
The batting maestro revolutionised the Indian Test team during his captaincy and took them to great heights by leading them to overseas wins in South Africa, England, and Australia.
With a huge following on social media, Kohli stands as a global cricket icon and the sport’s poster boy. His unexpected retirement from Test cricket also drew reactions from the international media.
The New York Times paid a fitting tribute to Indian batting in an article headlined “Virat Kohli made one billion Indians dream again and helped save Test cricket.”
“Eyes focused, collar turned up, an armband on the left and an armband tattoo on the right, the iconic wrist-twirl of the bat. Virat Kohli, the world’s most famous cricketer, at the crease in whites, brought balance, poise and ferocity – a sight to behold unless you were in the opposition XI,” The New York Times via The Athletic wrote about him.
In his column for the BBC, former England paceman Steve Finn talked about Kohli’s journey from a young 17-year-old boy to one of the greatest to play the game.
“What I remember most vividly is how keen he was to engage in a battle with us. In age-group cricket, some players are there to score their runs so they progress through the system. Not Kohli. He was there to win. It was this trait that elevated him above his peers and served him so well throughout a Test career that has carried the hopes of 1.4bn people,” Finn wrote in a column for the BBC.
In newsrooms across Australia, a mix of relieved sighs, cheers, and applause echoed as their chief tormentor for over a decade bid farewell to a remarkable Test career.
“For Australians, there was fascination with Kohli for his combination of incredible batting skill and spikiness on the field that reminded many of their own,” leading Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald said of the Indian icon.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) highlighted his successful run as India’s Test captain, which also included a historic series win Down Under.
“His Test career will also be remembered fondly for his spell as captain between 2014 and 2022, winning 40 of his 68 Tests in charge to become the country’s most successful skipper in the format and fourth all-time in terms of victories behind South African Graeme Smith (53) and Australians Ricky Ponting (48) and Steve Waugh (41),” ABC wrote in its tribute.
Virat Kohli broke 1.4 billion hearts with retirement announcement, read the headline of a piece in news.com.au.
It said that the departure of the two titans, Kohli and Rohit Sharma, will be felt when the Indian tour of England later this summer.
“Kohli has been the rock at the centre of India’s middle order for most of his career – and losing (Rohit) Sharma and Kohli at the same time is a major gut punch to the cricketing powerhouse.
“The immediate departures of Sharma and Kohli add another layer of intrigue to the widespread reports of disharmony within the Indian dressing room during the team’s tour of Australia this summer,” news.com.au concluded.
Fox Sports said the absence of Kohli, alongside Rohit, will leave a “gaping hole” in the Indian batting line-up.
“… With it being an unstable time for the team, the departure of Kohli and his successor as skipper at the same time will leave a gaping hole off field as well as in the Indian top order, despite their struggles, ahead of a crucial series,” Fox Sports said.