Virat Kohli’s Test cricket journey is nothing short of a golden chapter in Indian cricket. From his debut in 2011 to becoming India’s most passionate Test captain, Kohli changed the attitude of Indian cricket, especially in the red-ball format. He made fitness, aggression, and consistency the identity of this team. With 123 Tests, 30 centuries, and more than 9,000 runs, his stats speak for themselves.
But even after such an extraordinary run, five things in his Test career may leave a feeling of incompleteness in his heart. These are not failures but missed milestones that could have added more shine to his already glowing legacy.
Let’s understand what Virat Kohli might silently regret after his Test retirement.
1. Couldn’t Reach the 10,000 Test Runs Milestone
Kohli retired from Test cricket with 9,230 runs in 123 matches. He is India’s fifth-highest Test run-scorer but was just 770 runs away from the magic number of 10,000. It’s a special number that only elite players reach.
He started his test career strong and once averaged over 55. However, after 2019, his form dipped for an extended period. He went through a patch where centuries dried up. Even though he returned to form later, those lost runs from that period left him short of a significant number.
Players like Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,288), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) all touched the 10K mark. Kohli’s name deserved to be in that group, but he missed it by a narrow margin.
2. Twice in WTC Finals, But No Trophy
In 2021, India reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship for the first time. Kohli was the captain, and fans had high hopes. But New Zealand outplayed India in a rain-hit final in Southampton. It was a heartbreaking loss.
In 2023, India again reached the final under Rohit Sharma. Kohli was still part of the XI team. But once again, India lost—this time to Australia.
So, despite taking India to back-to-back WTC finals, the Test mace did not come to Kohli’s hands. He captained India to many historic series wins, including in Australia and at home, but this global ICC Test trophy stayed out of reach.
3. No Farewell Match on the Field
When a player retires from any format, fans expect a grand farewell—one final match, one final salute on the field, one final round of applause. Unfortunately, Virat Kohli did not get that in Tests.
He announced his Test retirement quietly, and there was no official last match where he could walk off with cheers. In ODIs, he retired after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 with Rohit Sharma, and that was a grand moment.
But his Test farewell came in silence. A grand goodbye was well deserved for a cricketer who gave so much to the format and raised the standard of India’s Test cricket.
4. Never Played a Test Match Against Pakistan
Kohli played against Pakistan in T20 and ODIs many times. Some of his most iconic innings came against Pakistan in white-ball cricket, including the famous T20 World Cup 2022 knock in Melbourne.
But shockingly, he never played even one Test match against Pakistan. This is not due to cricketing reasons but political tensions between the two countries. Since 2007, India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral Test series. Kohli entered Test cricket in 2011, and since then, India has not played Pakistan in red-ball cricket.
His Test battles include iconic duels with Australia, England, and South Africa—but fans missed the chance to watch him in a high-pressure India vs Pakistan Test. This will always be a “what if” in his Test journey.
5. Stayed Behind in India’s Test Century List
Virat Kohli is the king of centuries in ODI cricket. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries and now holds the record with 51 hundred in ODIs.
But in Tests, he finished with 30 centuries. That’s a massive number, but it’s still behind a few legendary Indian names. Sachin Tendulkar leads the Indian chart with 51 Test hundreds. Rahul Dravid scored 36, Sunil Gavaskar hit 34.
At one time, Kohli could match these legends in Tests, too. But the long dry patch between 2020 and 2022 hurt his stats. He did score a century after 1,200 days in 2023, but the overall count stopped at 30. Many felt he had the talent and time to reach at least 40.
A Career of Fire and Records, Still a Few Unfinished Stories
Kohli’s name in Indian Test cricket will forever be remembered. He made India the No.1 Test team, led from the front, and never compromised on fitness or intensity. His overseas wins in Australia, aggressive attitude on the field, and match-winning knocks have made him one of the greatest in red-ball cricket.
But these five points will always remain a part of the conversation around his career. They don’t take away from his greatness, but they show his high expectations—and how close he came to breaking every possible barrier.
Even legends have incomplete dreams. For Virat Kohli, Test cricket gave him a name, love, and legacy—but maybe not complete closure.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available cricket data and player career records. Personal opinions may vary.
Sources: Navbharat Times, BCCI, ICC, ESPNcricinfo
