My Thoughts

If someone had told me in 2019 that Virat Kohli would retire from Test cricket with an average below 50 and fewer than 10,000 runs, I would never have believed them.

That, in many ways, sums up Kohli’s Test career. It began slowly, rose to extraordinary heights, and then endured a prolonged decline that lasted almost as long as his peak. The result is a career that was undoubtedly great by most standards, but one that somehow feels incomplete given the heights he once seemed destined to reach.

I still remember Kohli’s entry into the Indian Test side. At the time, breaking into the Indian middle order was nearly impossible. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman were still around, and opportunities were scarce. Kohli got his chance during India’s tour of the West Indies in 2011 after several senior players opted to rest following the World Cup triumph.

It was a forgettable debut series, but few doubted his potential. The talent was obvious. The question was never whether Kohli would succeed in Test cricket, but how far he would go.

The first real glimpse of the player he would become came during India’s tour of South Africa in 2013-14. Although India lost the series, Kohli announced himself as a genuine Test cricketer. He showed that he possessed not only the technique to succeed at the highest level but also the temperament to take on the world’s best bowlers in the toughest conditions.

Even the disastrous tour of England in 2014, where his technique was repeatedly exposed outside off stump, proved to be only a temporary setback. The response that followed defined his greatness.

From December 2013 to November 2019, Kohli was arguably the best Test batter in the world. During that period, he scored 23 centuries in 64 Tests and averaged nearly 59. More importantly, he scored runs everywhere. Home or away, pace or spin, strong attacks or weak ones, Kohli found a way to dominate.

What made his achievements even more remarkable was that he was doing the same in white-ball cricket. While piling up runs in Tests, he was simultaneously averaging over 50 in both ODIs and T20Is. No contemporary batter matched his consistency across all three formats.

Yet Kohli’s contribution to Indian cricket extends far beyond the runs he scored.

If his batting made him a superstar, his captaincy transformed Indian Test cricket.

Under Kohli, India developed an identity it had often lacked overseas. For decades, India had relied heavily on batting and spin. Kohli’s India embraced fast bowling as its primary weapon. The results were remarkable.

The pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma became one of the most formidable bowling units in world cricket. Supported by Umesh Yadav and a world-class spin department, India evolved into a team capable of winning anywhere.

For nearly a decade, India were virtually unbeatable at home and consistently competitive abroad. The historic series victory in Australia in 2018-19 was the culmination of years of cultural change, and Kohli deserves immense credit for driving that transformation.

His influence extended beyond tactics and team selection. He redefined fitness standards in Indian cricket and inspired an entire generation of players to treat conditioning, discipline, and professionalism as non-negotiable aspects of success.

And then came the decline.

What makes Kohli’s Test career so fascinating is not that he struggled. Every great player eventually does. It is the length and severity of the slump that remains surprising.

Until November 2019, Kohli had scored 27 Test centuries in 84 matches and averaged close to 55. The expectation was that he would cruise past 10,000 Test runs and perhaps finish with numbers comparable to the very greatest batters in the game’s history.

Instead, the runs slowed dramatically.

In his final 39 Tests, he managed only three centuries. The consistency that had defined his career deserted him. His average steadily declined, eventually settling at 46.85. By any objective measure, those are excellent numbers. Yet they fall short of what seemed inevitable at the peak of his powers.

That is the paradox of Virat Kohli’s Test career.

Most players would consider 9,230 runs, 30 centuries, and an average of 46.85 the achievement of a lifetime. For Kohli, those numbers somehow leave a sense of unfinished business because his peak suggested something even greater.

As a batter, he may not have reached every milestone many expected him to. As a leader, however, his legacy is beyond debate.

I will remember Kohli the captain more than Kohli the batter of his later years. I will remember the aggression, the belief, the relentless pursuit of excellence, and the conviction that India could compete with anyone, anywhere in the world.

His retirement feels slightly anticlimactic. A player of his stature deserved a grand farewell in front of a packed stadium. Circumstances, however, do not always allow legends to script their own ending.

Indian cricket now moves forward without both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in its Test middle order, leaving behind a significant void. Replacing their experience and presence will not be easy.

Yet all careers, even the greatest ones, eventually come to an end.

While Kohli may continue to entertain fans in ODI cricket and the IPL, seeing India take the field in whites without him will feel strange. Few players have shaped an era as completely as he did.

His Test career may not have ended with the numbers many predicted in 2019, but numbers alone cannot define his impact. He leaves behind a stronger Test team, a pace-bowling culture that changed Indian cricket forever, and countless memories that fans will cherish for years to come.

That is a legacy few cricketers can match.