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Virat Kohli, a mainstay of Team India, has announced the abrupt end of his longest-format career. A few days after Rohit Sharma, the typical opening batsman for Team India, announced his retirement from Test cricket, he decided to do the same.

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri discussed his conversations with Kohli before to the veteran’s decision to leave the format in an interview with Sanjana Ganesan on “ICC Review.”

“I did speak to him about it, I think a week before that [his announcement] and his mind was very clear that he’d given his everything,” said Shastri.

“No regrets were expressed. I asked him one or two questions, and because it was a private talk, he answered them completely and without reservation, which led me to conclude that the moment was appropriate. The 62-year-old said, “The mind has told his body that it’s time to go.”

Prior to the England Test series, Virat Kohli declared his retirement. The “Three Lions” and Team India will face off in a five-match Test series.

With mainstays Rohit and Kohli retiring, India’s thought tank will have a major gap to fill. Following Team India’s victory in the T20 World Cup 2024, the pair had already withdrawn from the game’s shortest format. They will now only be featured in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), one format.

Virat played 123 matches for India before ending his Test career. The 36-year-old amassed 9,230 runs, which included 31 half-centuries and 30 hundreds. His unbroken 254 runs are his highest total in the format.

The Delhi native is now playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2025 Indian Premier League. In the past, the BCCI chose to halt the competition for a week because of the growing tensions between India and Pakistan across the border.

The board subsequently declared that the tournament will continue on May 17 and that the opening match would be between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and RCB. At 7:30 p.m., the game will take place at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.