VIRAT KOHLI'S DECISION TO RETIRE FROM TESTS WILL BE FELT BY ENGLAND AS WELL AS INDIA GIVEN HIS 'DEMIGOD' PULLING POWER, WRITES RICHARD GIBSON
- It would represent India's third such golden generation farewell in six months
- He inspired India to new limits and his predecessors could not reach his win tally
- England's team won't be unhappy but those sitting in the stands certainly will
English fans are set to miss out on one last showing from one of the game's box office stars this summer after it emerged Virat Kohli has informed India of his retirement from Tests.
Unless they can persuade him to reconsider, it would represent India's third such farewell from one of their golden generation in the space of six months following the departures of 38-year-old pair Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The loss of Kohli, 36, would be felt not only by India, however, but by England too given his pulling power.
A late career lull means that with a record of 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, he will not go down in history as a Test great, but he has been great for Test cricket.
Ironically, there has been no more influential figure in the 21st century fight against Twenty20-ism than Kohli, a man who mastered the white-ball game and enjoyed its riches.
Yes, when it comes to limited-overs batsmen, his 52 hundreds place him top of the tree, yet his love for the traditional format infected others, breathing new life into it across India.
The combination of his competitive instincts and respect for cricket's heritage inspired him to push the Indian team to new limits, making them fitter than ever during a record reign as captain - none of his predecessors could get near his 40 wins from 68 attempts.
Inheriting the demigod status of Sachin Tendulkar on the subcontinent, Kohli broke new ground with the bat, defying the theory that his low grip would limit his effectiveness Down Under by striking 692 runs on his first Test tour of Australia wearing the armband in 2014-15.
Four years later, he masterminded a first ever series victory on Australian soil by an Asian side. India repeated the dose in 2020-21, making light of Kohli flitting for paternity leave after a first Test defeat in which his side were dismissed for 36.
From a personal perspective, though, Kohli was already on the way down by that stage: an average that at its peak hit 55.1 in 2019 - justifiably placing him in a Fab Four alongside Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson - plunging to the levels of the very good.
It left one of the sport's most fiery characters susceptible to taunts from lesser mortals. Most notably, on his last Test appearance here three years ago when England set about their record chase of 378 at Edgbaston.
Alex Lees did not spend long on the biggest stage, exiting after 453 runs in 10 matches, but it was enough time to leave his mark via one of the great sledges, responding to some chirps from slip with: 'I've had two kids since you last scored a century.'
A lack of hundreds - Kohli made 26 in his first 81 Test appearances, but only four across his next 42 - will have cut deep.
Frustration boiled over last winter in Perth, not long after he reached three figures for the 30th time and first in 18 months, with his shoulder-barging of teenager Sam Konstas during the Boxing Day Test, an indiscretion for which he received a demerit point and a minimal fine rather than a ban.
Even so, his exit a month before the five-match series begins in Nottingham feels premature.
However, Kohli is understood to have told the Indian hierarchy that the time is right for him to step away - given that a new World Test Championship cycle begins in June - prior to Rohit stepping down this week.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar will discuss things further with him once the process of choosing a new captain, set aside for this weekend and likely to be either Shubman Gill or Jasprit Bumrah, has concluded.
The absence of Rohit and Kohli would leave India with a callow top six in conditions with a tendency to exploit technical weakness.
An England team seeking whatever advantages they can in a quest to hit number one in the rankings won't be unhappy, but those in the stands will.
Read more 2025-05-10T22:04:32Z
