Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 12, 2025, and it came as a shock to the cricketing world and his fans. During an RCB podcast with Sports Presenter Mayanti Langer, Kohli reflected on his journey as India’s Test captain and explained how the minimal age gap within the squad helped create a culture of shared responsibility among the players.
Kohli retired from the format after a poor run in the longest format. He ended his Test career with a total of 9,230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, laced with 30 centuries. Kohli’s tally also includes seven double centuries, his highest runs being 254*
Virat Kohli took over Test captaincy in Dhoni’s absence
Kohli, who took over the captaincy during the Australia tour in MS Dhoni‘s absence, reflected on his stint.
“I, in fact, looked at the times that I have been able to play test cricket for so long and, you know, the opportunity and lead India for so long to, you know, some amazing victories and a golden era in our test journeys. You know, a bunch of young guys who always wanted to play test cricket for India having the opportunity of their lives as a young group.”
The 37-year-old also spoke about how the age gap within the squad helped create a culture of shared responsibility among the players, like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja
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“The most important thing was that if you look at our average age, you know, there was no hesitation between seniors and juniors. Everyone had played under the senior players a little bit before, and so many of the younger guys that came in after, we were like a group of friends. So what happened was, okay, I was leading, and the management was, you know, taking the team forward in a certain way, but the most important thing was because of the average age of the group, everyone felt like they had responsibilities and ownership,” he said.
“It was not like, yeah, these guys will look after the team and, you know, we do not have anything to do with it. It felt like, okay, we are young, we want to create this, you know, team for the next six, seven, eight years. What can I do to make the team better? So people started asking questions of themselves,” Kohli further said.
Kohli registered seven Test victories in SENA countries
Virat Kohli will forever be known as one of the best Indian Test captains. He led India to a historic series win in Australia in 2018-19, and he also registered a total of seven Test victories in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia).
