Virat Kohli set to come out of Test retirement? Here’s the update
May 12, 2025 — on this day, the Indian team's legendary batsman, Virat Kohli, stunned all his fans by announcing his retirement from Test cricket. The format he loved the most—to which he had always remained deeply dedicated—was left behind without fulfilling his sole dream: to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. He announced his retirement simply through a single Instagram post. The decision came as a complete surprise, leaving fans emotional after reading his farewell message.
It has been over a year since Kohli announced his retirement, yet fans continue to yearn to see him play Test cricket once again. Time and again, fans have been urging him to come out of his Test retirement. Amidst all this, Rajkumar Sharma—Virat Kohli's childhood coach—has also provided an update regarding a potential return from Virat Kohli's Test retirement.
“Many people have told me to ask Virat to return to Test cricket because he listens to you," Sharma said.
"When asked if he spoke to Kohli on this issue, Sharma said: “We are talking about it; let’s see what happens."
Virat Kohli's test career
Virat Kohli made his test debut against the West Indies in 2011 at Jamaica. For the national team, he played 123 test matches, scoring 9230 runs in 210 innings with an average of 46.85. He smashed 31 half-centuries and 30 centuries. In 2014, after MS Dhoni’s test retirement, Kohli became India’s test captain. During his tenure as captain, India won 40 test matches out of 68, while 11 matches ended in a draw.
Under his captaincy tenure, India's Test team embarked on a journey from No. 7 to No. 1, a run that included a historic series win against Australia in 2018 and a series victory on Sri Lankan soil in 2016. Furthermore, during the 2021 tour of England, the Indian team had secured a 2-1 lead after the first four matches. The final match of the series was played a year later due to COVID-19, but by then Kohli had stepped down as captain. On home soil, the Indian team did not allow any visiting side even to draw a series, winning every single Test series played. The Indian team held the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket from 2017 to 2021 and also reached the final of the 2021 World Test Championship, where India suffered a defeat against New Zealand.
Virat Kohli played his final Test series against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in 2024/25. In the first Test, Virat scored a magnificent century and guided his team to victory; however, he subsequently failed to sustain his form and managed to score a total of only 190 runs in the series. In an effort to regain his form, he even stepped into the Ranji Trophy—a move that, in the truest sense, turned out to be his final Test match.
