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Just days before the squads were announced for the England versus India Test series, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli announced his retirement from the Test format. However, his peers, namely Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith are still trudging along, maintaining their fondly called ‘Fab Four’ rivalry especially in Test cricket. Virat’s record as a captain in the test format was impeccable, winning 40 out of 68 matches in the red-ball game.
Reflecting on Virat Kohli’s Test retirement, New Zealand batter Kane Williamson got nostalgic. He recollected his memories on and off the field, since their Under-19 days. Speaking with the Times of India, the former Black Caps skipper said it’s an incredible thing that someone like Virat Kohli walked away on his own terms from the Test format after being one of their standouts for so many years.
He was quoted as saying, "Your careers have kind of married up from Under-19s through to captaining or playing for your country. Then in the captain's instance that we did that… were very similar times to the natural progression, all good things come to an end, and the way he’s been able to make those decisions that feel comfortable to him. I think it’s been incredible going out on his terms, etc. Although still involved in one of the formats."
Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson faced each other in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2008 for the first time
Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli hit the spotlight during the Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2008 campaign. Both the players faced each other in the final match of that tournament as captains of their respective sides. Having already retired from T20I cricket following India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024. Virat Kohli is only active in the ODI format in international cricket, he last represented India in the Champions Trophy 2025 in the 50-over format.
His last Test outing happened during an underwhelming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia, where he slammed a century in the first test at Perth, but after that, he failed to play an impactful innings. Kohli retired with 9,230 Test runs, making him the fourth highest run-scorer in Tests for India.
