The curtains have finally come down on Virat Kohli’s glittering Test career. Kohli followed skipper Rohit Sharma into retirement – with an England tour just around the corner.
With just 800 runs shy of the golden landmark of 10,000 Test runs, many thought Kohli would pad up for the five Test series in England. But the scars from Australia may have triggered some searching questions from the selectors. Test cricket, after all, is the final frontier – and even the greatest find their reflexes deserting them when Father Time begins to bowl.
He could’ve milked a few more runs at home on friendly pitches, but that’s not the legacy Kohli wanted to leave behind. Hanging on for milestones? That’s for stat padders, not standard bearers. Eventually there was no farewell Test. One of the greatest players in the modern era stepped aside without much celebration.
While the numbers don’t lie – his Test average of 46 paling in comparison to his ODI exploits (57) – Kohli was often found fishing outside the off stump, particularly in England. Two centuries in 17 Tests in those seaming conditions told its own tale. The moving ball had his number.
But while he may not have ended up in the same pantheon as Tendulkar or Dravid in the longest format, Kohli’s true mark was made as captain. Under his charge, India didn’t just play with flair – they played with fire. He led them to 48 Test wins out of 60, making him India’s most successful Test skipper. That’s not just a stat – it’s a legacy.
His partnership with Ravi Shastri scripted the way forward for Indian cricket. Two men who were hell bent on winning and shared the same philosophy were able to change Indian cricket for the good. Together, they plotted wins in every corner of the globe. Their away record improved drastically and in Sri Lanka, they just dominated from ball one giving us a masterclass in strategy and ruthlessness.
Credit to Kohli for calling a spade a spade. He knew that overseas wins wouldn’t come on turning tracks. He invested in fast bowling like a captain betting his chips on pace, and it paid dividends. India began producing world-beaters with the ball.
In 2017, when Sri Lanka toured Calcutta, the Eden Gardens pitch had enough grass to be mistaken for a Trent Bridge track. That was Kohli’s India – bold, unafraid and thinking long-term.
He made tough calls. Even the mighty Ravichandran Ashwin found himself warming the bench overseas – proof that Kohli picked teams not by reputation but by relevance. Yet on turning tracks back home, he unleashed Ashwin like a magician, conjuring wickets out of dust bowls.
And let’s not forget, Kohli walked the talk. Ask the gym instructors at Taj Samudra or Jetwing Lighthouse – on non-match days, he’d be breaking sweat at 5 am. They had to reset their clocks to Kohli Standard Time. That wasn’t fitness – it was fanatical commitment.
Sri Lankan players could take a leaf out of that playbook. Far too often, they seemed content to fold their hands and listen when Kohli spoke. Respect is one thing; being overawed is another. Cricket is a contest, not a classroom.
Arjuna Ranatunga admired Sunil Gavaskar, but he didn’t hesitate to ruffle feathers. That’s the kind of steel you need. Sadly, against Kohli – even when he was chirping away and firing verbal bouncers – there was barely a peep in return.
One man who did take the fight to Kohli was Niroshan Dickwella. At times, he got under the Indian skipper’s skin, but as is the tragic tale of so many Sri Lankan talents, his career too fizzled out – promise unfulfilled.
Kohli’s journey from a chubby Delhi boy who devoured butter chicken to a lean, mean, run-scoring machine is the stuff of cricketing folklore. He raised the bar and dragged his team with him. When the captain dives at cover and turns up before sunrise, the rest follow suit – – or get left behind.
He didn’t just change India’s fortunes. He changed how India thought about cricket. That was Kohli’s biggest six – clearing not just the ropes, but the horizon.
How we wish Sri Lanka too finds a player cut from that cloth. A warrior with Kohli’s work ethic, vision, and fire in the belly. Because sometimes, all it takes is one trailblazer to turn a team from also-rans to world-beaters.
