Virat Kohli has ended days of speculation, confirming his immediate retirement from Test cricket, with BCCI officials unable to convince the Indian great to change his mind.

It brings to a close a 123-match Test career which has featured 30 centuries and 9230 runs – both the fourth-most by an Indian – which, combined with his extraordinary ODI and T20I figures, make him one of the greatest batters of all time.

He made the call with an Instagram post, with no desire to play in an upcoming five-match Test series in England.

“It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on,” he said.

“It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life. There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever.

“As I step away from this format, it’s not easy – but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for.

“I’m walking away with a heart full of gratitude – for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way.

“I’ll always look back at my Test career with a smile. #269 signing off.”

Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring a century. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The 36-year-old retired from T20I cricket following India’s T20 World Cup triumph in June last year.

Retirement from Tests would mark his final series as a 3-1 loss to Australia in the most recent summer, in which he scored just his third Test century since 2019 in the first Test but faded thereafter, and was widely pilloried for a mocking ‘sandpaper’ gesture during the fifth Test loss at the SCG.

Rumours started swirling over the weekend, with reports from India claiming the BCCI were desperate for him to play one final series, given former captain Rohit Sharma has already retired from Tests to leave a glaring lack of experience in India’s batting line-up.

Another veteran in Ravichandran Ashwin has also called it quits in the last 12 months, while Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are unlikely to be recalled for their first Tests since 2023, leaving new captain Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the only senior figures around the Test team.

Kohli has a mixed record in England, famously scoring 583 runs at an average of 59.3 with two centuries in a series loss in 2018, but averaging just 33.21 in 17 Tests overall.

While he has notably lost form since the COVID-19 pandemic, at his peak he was the best all-format batsman in the world and a commanding figurehead of Indian cricket.

As captain between 2014 and 2022, he took India to hitherto unseen heights, including a maiden Test series win over Australia in Australia in 2018/19, and a national record 40 wins in 68 games at the helm.