Kane Williamson made a candid admission while discussing Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket.
Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement and Its Impact on the Cricket World
Virat Kohli’s decision to step away from Test cricket in May 2025 marked the end of a remarkable era in the longest format. With 9,230 runs in 123 matches, Kohli was a cornerstone of red-ball cricket for over a decade. He was part of the celebrated ‘Fab Four’ alongside Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Steve Smith—batters who set the gold standard for consistency and excellence in Test cricket.
However, recent years saw a noticeable decline in Kohli’s form, with the 2024/25 season highlighting this slump: just one century and no fifties across three series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia.
Kohli’s retirement sent shockwaves through the cricketing fraternity, especially among his peers. Kane Williamson, a long-time rival and contemporary, admitted the announcement caught him by surprise. For Kane Williamson, Kohli’s choice to retire on his own terms, despite the dip in performance, underscored the greatness of his legacy.
“You never really consider it and you do see some of your opponents and mates making some of these decisions and you think ‘gosh, it has been a while’, and you’re not getting younger,” Kane Williamson told Independent.
“It’s a reality at some stage. For someone like Virat, who made that decision to go out on his own terms and do what he’s done for the game, that’s amazing. That’s so special.
Kohli’s retirement not only marks the close of a distinguished chapter but also reminds the cricketing world of the inevitable passage of time, even for legends.
Kohli only in ODIs
Having retired from T20 Internationals following India’s T20 World Cup victory last year, Virat Kohli is currently available only for ODI selection. However, India doesn’t have any ODI fixtures scheduled until October 2025. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has also retired from both T20Is and Test cricket, leaving their international futures a subject of much speculation.
According to a recent PTI report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to have discussions with both Kohli and Rohit about their roles in the team moving forward, especially with the 2027 ICC World Cup in South Africa on the horizon. The conversations will likely focus on their fitness, form, and ability to contribute consistently over the next couple of years to remain integral parts of the Indian squad.
With both players being key figures in Indian cricket for over a decade, their decisions and continued performances will be pivotal in shaping India’s strategy for the next World Cup cycle. The cricketing fraternity keenly awaits clarity on how the legendary duo plans to navigate the later stages of their illustrious careers.
