Virat Kohli Test retirement: '60 overs' pep talk at Lord's and other top quotes by Indian batting superstar

Virat Kohli brought the curtains down on his Test career on Monday , announcing his retirement from the format in a post on Instagram that took the cricketing world by surprise. Kohli’s announcement came less than a week after a similar decision by Rohit Sharma , with the two stalwarts of Indian cricket signing off from the five-day format more than a month before the marquee five-match Test series between India and England is to get underway.

Kohli thus ends his Test career with 9,230 runs from 123 appearances at an average of 46.85 , collecting 30 centuries and 31 fifties along the way. And looking beyond his accomplishments with the willow, he is also among the greatest captains in the format, having led India to 40 wins in 68 Tests with a win percentage of 58.82.

Also Read | Virat Kohli Test retirement: An extraordinary batter, an even greater captain who elevated the format

Kohli, after all, led India to their first Test series victory on Australian soil during the 2018-19 tour Down Under, ending a 71-year wait in the process. More than two years later, India would nearly win a five-Test series in England under his leadership.

Kohli’s legacy as a Test cricketer also stands tall for the manner in which he promoted the elite five-day format, as well as for creating a culture of fitness within the team and for shaping India’s greatest bowling attack ever.

The epic “60 overs” speech and other memorable quotes by Virat Kohli

Looking back at Kohli’s glorious 14-year run as a Test cricketer, we take a look at some of his most memorable quotes:

– “Agar koi mujhe hasta hua dikha na to samajh lena! For 60 overs, they should feel hell out there”

Kohli’s inspirational words ignited a fire within the Indian team that would result in the Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling unit bulldozing the English team after setting them 272 to win at Lord’s during the 2021 tour. Mohammed Siraj (4/32) and Bumrah (3/33) led the way as the hosts were bundled out for 120, giving India a 1-0 lead in the second Test.

– “150-odd runs means nothing now that we have lost the series. If we had won, even a 30 would have mattered more” 

Kohli made it clear that personal milestones did not matter to him as much as helping the team win after scoring a magnificent 153 in the first Test against South Africa in January 2018. Despite producing one of the finest knocks of his career on a spicy pitch against an attack comprising Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, India ended up losing the Test by 135 runs.

– “There’s no good reason that I should respect unnecessarily some people when they are not respecting me”

Kohli had an on-field altercation with Mitchell Johnson during the third Test of the 2014-15 tour in Melbourne, where he scored 169 and 54 in a drawn game. He made it amply clear during a press conference after the third day’s play that he was not going to respect the senior Australian pacer when being subjected to a barrage of sledging on the field.

— “The basic idea is to take 20 wickets. That’s the only way you can win a game”

Kohli revealed his mindset as a bowler’s captain in his first full series as captain, during the tour of Sri Lanka in 2015 – in which India registered its first-ever Test series victory in the island nation. It is this mindset that would end becoming the cornerstone of Kohli’s legacy as Test captain, and would be integral to making him the most successful India Test captain ever.

— “I cannot explain to you the job satisfaction that you get when you do well in Test cricket, because you know how demanding it is. It’s the most beautiful format of the game”

Speaking to Wisden Cricket Monthly in 2018, Kohli revealed how much he cared for the five-day format. And in his 14-year career in whites, Kohli has continuously used his star power and reach to promote red-ball cricket in an era of slam-bang T20 action in which 20-over cricket has become the most popular format by a fair distance and attention spans are shorter than ever.