New Delhi:
“And now the end is close, so I’m facing the last curtain …”When Virat Kohli posted his pension video with playing “My Way” Frank Sinatra in the background, it hit differently. It wasn’t just the choice of a song. It was a statement. The courageous, emotional, steadfast as well as the way Kohli played cricket according to his own conditions.Returning to Virat Kohli from the test cricket is not just the end of a glittering career, it’s the end of the era. For those of us, who reached a big Sachin tendulkar, was not just a cricket. It was our heart rhythm, our hero, our fire. It was why we woke up at 5 am to test on a boxing day in Melbourne or stayed after midnight and watched India fighting in Johannesburg. If Sachin made a cricket with a religion, Kohli brought an intensity that changed every session to the battlefield.However, the largest gift of Kohli for the Indian cricket was not just a mountain of running, although 9,230 runs in 123 tests with 30 centuries are nothing extraordinary. It was a transformation he brought to the mentality of the team. He instilled faith. He demanded hunger. He preferred fitness as never before, not only for himself, but for the whole generation. And the most critical led the rise in the rise of the Indian pace of attack, which could control anywhere in the world. Similarly, Jasprit Bumhrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj became the winner of the matches.Shane Warne once said great in 2021: “Virat Kohli is a test cricket. He loves it. It’s the purest form of play and every time he plays it gives him everything.”Today, these words feel prophetic.Who can forget the ties that before England came to the bat in the fourth shift at Lord in 2021. Kohli said, “For 60 crosses should feel hell.” This line, raw and electric, has captured everything they stood for in this format.But Kohli’s journey was not always smooth. In 2012, Sanjay Manjrekar tweet that gave Kohl “one more test just to be sure that this is not belonging.” Ten years later, when Kohli retired, the same Manjrekar tweet: “The biggest brand of the modern cricket era that gave it all for the oldest cricket format. The test cricket owes this debt Virat Kohli.” The arch of doubt, defiance and dominance summarizes Kohli best.
Sanjay Manjrekar Tweet
In November 2019, Kohli was 31, with 7 202 test runs and 27 centuries. At that time, 10,000 runs and 50+ average felt like a lost conclusion. But the years that followed were not kind. Over the past five years, he has added just over 2,000 runs and ended with 9,230 runs on average 46.85 its lowest since 2012. Since Mammoth 254 against South Africa, its form has declined sharply. In 42 tests that followed, its diameter dropped from 55.1 to less than 47.After the Covid break, the number reflected the rough reality. During 37 tests, it only 32.09. Indian 7 best doughs on average were 31.15 and the average was 29.87 worldwide. For a man who once defined size, these figures felt modest modest.
Virat Kohli leaves from a test cricket after 14 years
The final tour of Australia Virat Kohli summed up the fight. Released in eight shifts and only 190 runs scored at 23.75, with a lonely century in Perth masks what was otherwise painful farewell series.But to reduce Kohli’s heritage to mere numbers means missing the essence of who he was. It brought theater to test cricket. After the goals he yelled like a fast pitch, celebrated draws like winning and charged in a field with tireless energy. His passion was infectious. His aggression was not only personal, it was symbolic for the new India that did not return, who played victory, at home or away.
Vote
Which moment from Kohli’s career stands for you the most?
In 2012, Kohli looked at himself in the mirror and decided not to look like a professional athlete. That moment caused transformation; He reworked his diet, accepted discipline and became the most appropriate cricket of his era.
India is likely to test group for England Tour
For many fans, the fact that they will end their career without exceeding 10,000 test runs and the diameter of only shy 50 is like travesty. It may chase us, not because it reduces it, but because we have always believed it will resist the limits.But then there was always more than the numbers.Quiz: Who is the IPL player?When Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin also bowed from the format during the BGT series in Australia at the beginning of this year, as deviated as Rahane and Pujara already outside the test fold, Kohli’s retirement really feels like the last curtain of the Golden Generation. The era that brought us a historic victory in Lord’s, Gabba, Centurion and Okal… is now history.For fans, this moment is more than just cricket. Kohli was not just a player. For all fans of Kohli gene, his retirement feels like a deeply personal loss.Goodbye, virat kohli. You didn’t just play a test cricket. You gave it a soul.
Get IPL 2025 matches, units, table points and live score for CSK, Mi, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS and RR. Check the latest IPL and purple caps.
Grab the story of Lovlina that develops in the game. Watch here!
