Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli has announced his retirement from Test cricket at the age of 36.
The former captain follows his successor, Rohit Sharma, who also bowed out from the longest format five days ago, in stepping away from the team shortly before their five-match series in England this summer.
Kohli played 123 Tests and scored 9,230 runs, making him the fourth-highest-scoring Indian in the game’s history, before confirming his decision to retire in an Instagram post.
Legacy
Kohli leaves behind an immense legacy in Indian and world cricket, having been one of the game’s greatest batters and captains since making his Test debut as a 22-year-old in 2011.
Before his maiden appearance in the longest format, he had already been a part of the country’s World Cup-winning side earlier in the same year, but his impact on the international stage grew rapidly in the Test arena.
He took over the captaincy from the great MS Dhoni in 2014 and led a new wave of Indian cricketers to the top of the world stage.
His aggressive, in-your-face style of leadership took his country to number one in the world and saw him become the first-ever Asian captain to claim a series victory in Australia, coming in 2018, as well as winning nine series in a row, equaling Australia’s record.
His resignation as captain in 2022 coincided with a long-term slump in form with the bat, but until 2020, he was one of the world’s best.
Part of the ‘Fab Four’ alongside Australia’s Steve Smith, England’s Joe Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, Kohli became the first captain to ever score six double centuries and won the Cricketer of the Decade award for the 2010s.
Between 2012 and 2019, he scored exactly 7,000 runs in Test cricket at an average of 57.38.
Even more impressively, he totalled 4,208 runs in just four years from 2016 and averaged a staggering 66.79.
His drop-off from 2020 onwards, in which he averaged 30.73 in 39 matches, may have tarnished his reputation in the eyes of some but he will be remembered as one of the world’s most intimidating and well-rounded batters when at his peak.
New era for India team
Kohli’s retirement will herald the emergence of the nation’s next middle-order batting star.
As he himself followed in the footsteps of the great Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli will leave a hole in India’s batting lineup that will need filling.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have already shown their talents on the international stage, but they are both set to be mainstays in the top order.
Others, such as KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, are already experienced at Test level and all around the 30-years-old mark.
Perhaps Kohli’s true, long-term successor will be between Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel.
Padikkal usually bats in the top order, but with the potential that Jaiswal and Gill both hold, chances will be few and far between, so slotting into the number four position could be his best option.
He has only played two Tests so far but averages 45 with one half-century and could earn himself another chance.
Sarfaraz may be the same age as Pant, at 27, but is significantly less experienced in international cricket, albeit having already scored one hundred and three fifties in just six matches.
He has received criticism for his supposed lack of fitness, but if he improves that side of his game, then he has shown he has the ability to become a part of India’s middle-order for the next 10 years.
Jurel is the most outside bet, but seems to have a lot of talent.
The 24-year-old wicketkeeper impressed with an innings of 90 against England last year and could develop into more of a batter if Pant retains his place in the side with the gloves.
Although relatively inexperienced, he will have hoped to have learnt a few lessons from the greats Kohli and Rohit in recent years and could turn into one of the nation’s next superstars.
England series
Despite Kohli’s poor form in recent years, many England fans would have cast their minds back to the 2018 series, when he scored 593 runs in five matches, and had worries ahead of this summer.
However, with his departure from the side, Ben Stokes’ side should be firm favourites to take a series win in home conditions.
India’s batting lineup, with Gill set to be named as Rohit’s replacement as captain, will head into the series with KL Rahul as the most experienced batter, a player who averages a reasonable but not so troubling 34.11 in England.
With a very inexperienced middle-order set to be selected, the pressure will be on Gill and Jaiswal to get India off to good starts.
However, Gill averages just 14.66 in England and Jaiswal is yet to play a Test in the country so the all-round abilities of Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy could be relied upon a lot more than they would like.
India do still have a strong bowling attack, with the world’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, returning to a land where he has taken 37 wickets at 26.27 runs a piece.
He will be supported by Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and potentially a returning Mohammed Shami.
Whilst England will be favourites to win the Pataudi Trophy, it would not be a surprise to see their top-order struggle against the pace and skill of the Indian attack.