Why did Virat Kohli retire from Tests and what does 269 mean?

After 14 years playing Test matches, Virat Kohli is retiring from the nationalist squad arsenic 1 of the immortals of Indian cricket.

“Honestly, I ne'er imagined the travel this format would instrumentality maine on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught maine lessons I’ll transportation for life,” Kohli wrote connected Monday successful his Test status societal media post.

“There’s thing profoundly idiosyncratic astir playing successful whites. The quiescent grind, the agelong days, the tiny moments that no-one sees but that enactment with you forever,” helium added.

Here is each to cognize astir the retirement of India’s hugely impactful batter and captain:

Why is Virat Kohli retiring from Tests?

Kohli’s declining signifier successful the five-day format of cricket whitethorn person prompted his determination to telephone it a day.

After averaging adjacent to 55 astatine his highest betwixt 2011 and 2019, helium could muster a batting mean of conscionable 32.56 implicit the past 24 months.

Kohli’s past Test was successful Sydney successful January erstwhile India mislaid the match, and with it the bid 3-1, to Australia.

Apart from an unbeaten period successful the 2nd innings of the archetypal Test successful Perth, Kohli managed conscionable 90 runs from 8 innings successful the five-Test series.

Kohli has antecedently cited intelligence fatigue and injuries arsenic different reasons to see retirement.

“As I measurement distant from this format, it’s not casual – but it feels right. I’ve fixed it everything I had, and it’s fixed maine backmost truthful overmuch much than I could’ve hoped for,” Kohli said.

What does Virat #269 mean?

Kohli utilized #269 successful his Instagram station portion announcing his status connected Monday.

The fig denotes Kohli arsenic the 269th subordinate who represented India successful Test cricket.

What volition Kohli bash next?

Kohli volition proceed to play for the Indian cricket squad successful One-Day International (ODI) matches, but with Test lucifer commitments removed from his schedule, helium volition present person much clip to prosecute different interests extracurricular of the game.

The 36-year-old has an expanding concern empire successful India. He is an progressive capitalist successful large-scale fitness, hospitality and covering companies specified arsenic Chisel fittingness centre, Rage Coffee, sportswear marque One8, WROGN menswear marque and Blue Tribe, to sanction conscionable a few.

He is besides a planetary marque ambassador for aggregate planetary companies, including Puma, Audi and Vivo.

Unlike galore apical cricketers, Kohli has not indicated that helium volition prosecute a cricket commentary career, but helium has repeatedly talked astir giving backmost to the crippled successful immoderate form, with coaching a imaginable enactment successful the future.

Once retired, volition Kohli determination to England?

In December 2024, it was wide reported that Kohli was readying to permission India and settee successful London with his wife, histrion Anushka Sharma, and their 2 children, girl Vamika and lad Akaay, according to his puerility cricket manager Rajkumar Yadav, who hinted astatine the impending determination successful an interrogation with Hindi paper Dainik Jagran.

Cricketer Virat Kohli, left, and his wife, Bollywood histrion Anushka Sharma, airs for a photograph during the Indian Sports Honours reddish carpet successful Mumbai, India, connected March 23, 2023 [Ashish Vaishnav/LightRocket via Getty Images]

What is Kohli’s nett worth?

It has been reported that Kohli’s nett worthy is astir 96 cardinal pounds ($126m) from salaries, businesses and endorsement deals.

What are Kohli’s cardinal vocation Test lucifer stats?

• Kohli leaves with 7 treble centuries, the astir by an Indian subordinate and the 4th astir successful Test history. Six of them came successful an bonzer 18-month, 33-innings spell from July 2016 to December 2017 – a play successful which helium was the fig 1 batter successful the format.
• The fig of Test centuries made by Kohli – lone 14 players person more. He besides had 31 half-centuries.
• Kohli’s highest Test people was 254, made against South Africa successful Pune, India, successful October 2019. He finished the innings not out, and it was the past of his treble centuries.
• He was skipper successful 68 Tests, winning 40 of them – the astir for an Indian skipper and 4th wide successful Test cricket.
• The fig of Test runs made by Kohli – 9,230 runs astatine an mean of 46.85 – ranks him 4th connected the all-time database of India players down chap greats Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar.

• Kohli’s full of 692 runs successful 4 Tests is the astir by immoderate Indian batsman successful a Test bid successful Australia.

Virat Kohli celebrates his period connected Day 3 of the archetypal Test betwixt Australia and India astatine Perth Stadium connected November 24, 2024 [Izhar Khan/Getty Images]

How fashionable is Kohli?

Married to a Bollywood star, Kohli has 272 cardinal followers connected Instagram and 67.8 cardinal connected X – making him 1 of the astir followed sports stars connected the planet.

His popularity has been a cardinal origin down cricket’s instrumentality to the Olympics astatine the 2028 Games successful Los Angeles, the organisers acknowledged past year. 

Reaction to Kohli’s retirement

Greg Chappell, erstwhile Australia captain:

“Kohli redefined expectations, challenged conventions, and symbolised the self-assured, unapologetic India of the 21st century,” Chappell said successful a portion connected ESPN CricInfo.

“His departure leaves not lone a statistical void but a seismic displacement successful vigor – for determination has ne'er been different rather similar him.

“No Indian skipper had ever marshalled a squad to specified commanding overseas dominance. And nary batter since Tendulkar had truthful unequivocally ruled successful each continent.”

Jasprit Bumrah, India bowler:

“From making my Test debut nether your captaincy to reaching caller heights unneurotic for our country, your passionateness and vigor volition beryllium missed but the bequest you permission down remains unmatched.”

Sanath Jayasuriya, erstwhile Sri Lanka captain:

“While the satellite celebrates your cricketing brilliance and records, what I respect astir is your unwavering committedness to fittingness and the sacrifices you’ve made down the scenes.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal, India’s opening batsman:

“The interaction you’ve had connected trial cricket, and connected cricket successful India arsenic a whole, is immeasurable. To person had the accidental to stock the transportation with you – idiosyncratic I looked up to for truthful galore years – was much than conscionable a privilege; it was a infinitesimal I’ll transportation with maine forever.”