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Many current and former cricketers have credited Virat Kohli for infusing patience into Test cricket, saving it a manner that youngsters want to play red-ball cricket in the age of 20s. Kohli has been talked about as one of the greatest Test captains India ever had, if not the best. In 2022, Kohli’s Test captaincy era came to an end after a series defeat on South Africa soil. The announcement came amid Kohli’s drought for a century in international cricket. Four years after stepping down as Test captain and a year after retiring from the format he loved, the 37-year-old revealed why he made the call.
“I ended up being in a place where I became the focal point of our batting unit and the focal point of leadership. I didn’t realise how much of load both those things will present in my daily life, to be honest. But because I was so driven to just make sure that Indian cricket stays on top, I didn’t really pay attention to it. And that’s precisely why by the time I left captaincy, I was completely spent. There was nothing left in the tank. I was completely consumed by it. It was gruesome,” Kohli said during the RCB Innovation Lab on May 19.
Kohli is the first captain to lead India to a World Test Championship (WTC) final. Before the start of WTC 2025-27 cycle, Kohli announced his Test retirement, days after Rohit Sharma made the call. As India have struggled at home, there have been calls to bring back Kohli to Test cricket considering his fitness but the former captain is highly unlikely to make a U-turn.
Kohli’s Test captaincy record
Kohli took over Test captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2014. He captained for 68 Tests, winning 40, losing 17 whereas 11 ended in a draw. His win percentage of 70.17 is the best in Indian Test cricket history.
Kohli’s batting numbers as Test captain
Kohli is also fourth in the list of batters who have scored most runs as Test captain. After South Africa's Graeme Smith, Australia's Allan Border and Ricky Ponting, Kohli has 5,864 runs from 68 Tests as captain. He averages 54.8 as leader in the format. During his Test captaincy tenure, he scored 20 centuries and 18 fifties.
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