Mumbai: Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor remembers meeting cricketer Virat Kohli “eleven years ago” when Anushka Sharma was filming “Dil Dhadakne Do” after the star batsman announced his retirement from Test cricket. He remembered meeting Virat during the 2015 filming of ‘Dil Dhadakne Do,’ starring his wife and actress Anushka Sharma, and posted Virat’s retirement message on his Instagram stories on Monday.
“Anushka was filming ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ when we first met eleven years ago on a trip. I will never forget how kind, modest, and grounded you were; it made a deep effect on me. “Your discipline, passion, and the sheer joy and pride you’ve given us through your incredible achievements on the field are things I’ve been admiring from a distance ever since,” Kapoor captioned the photo.
“I’ve always been rooting for you, even though we haven’t met again since,” he said, congratulating Virat on his accomplishments. Congratulations on all of your achievements. Even though you are no longer playing Test cricket, you will always have a special place in the hearts of 1.4 billion Indians and millions more worldwide. I’m grateful, Virat.
Kohli declared his intention to retire from the game’s longest format on his Instagram account. “I have worn the baggy blue in Test cricket for the first time in fourteen years. To be honest, I had no idea the path this format would lead me down. It has put me to the test, molded me, and given me lifelong lessons. Playing in whites has a very particular meaning. Kohli said on Instagram, “The quiet grind, the long days, the little moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever.”
“It’s difficult for me to leave this structure, but it seems right. It has returned much more than I could have imagined after I gave it all I had. I’m leaving with a heart full of appreciation for the game, the teammates I played with, and everyone who helped me feel like I was noticed. I will always grin when I think back on my Test career”. Signing off, #269,” the message said.
The 36-year-old played in 123 Test matches while wearing white, amassing 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 hundreds and 31 fifties in 210 innings, with a highest score of 254\*. After Rahul Dravid (13,265 runs), Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs), and Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), he is India’s fourth-highest run scorer in the format.
In June 2011, he played his first Test match against the West Indies. A young Virat created a reputation for himself in the following years with some significant counterattacking performances, despite the fact that his debut Test trip was a huge letdown with just 76 runs in five innings. His first century against Australia in Adelaide in 2012, scoring 116 off 213 balls, marked the beginning of his ascent as a Test player.
Virat top-scored for India with 300 runs in four Test matches, including a century and a fifty, during a trip in which no other Indian player reached 300 runs and legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Virender Sehwag seemed to be a ghost of their former greatness. He amassed 2,994 runs at an average of 44.03 in 41 Test matches between 2011 and 2015, with 11 hundreds and 12 fifties in 72 innings.
Virat had one of the finest batting careers in Test cricket from 2016 to 2019. He amassed 4,208 runs at an average of 66.79 in 43 Test matches, with a top score of 254\*. He also scored 16 hundreds and 10 fifties in 69 innings. Additionally, this featured the most double hundreds ever scored by a skipper in Test cricket history—seven.
With only 2,028 runs at a lackluster average of 30.72 in 39 Test matches, three hundreds, and nine fifties in 69 innings, the superstar batter’s 2020s have not been terrific. A stellar 2023 gave him a lift in his stats, as he amassed 671 runs at an average of 55.91 in eight Test matches, including two hundreds and two fifties in 12 innings. Virat struggled with several significant format flaws during this period, especially when it came to deliveries outside the off-stump and against spinners. With just one hundred and fifty runs in 19 innings, he finished the previous season with a pitiful average of 22.47 and 382 runs in 10 Test matches.
His most notable Test performance was his century at Perth during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy trip to Australia between November and January, during which he amassed only 190 runs at an average of 23.75 in nine innings. His first century since hitting a ton against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023 was that one. He scored his last century at home in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad in early 2023 against Australia. Overcoming several setbacks and elevating Indian cricket to new heights has been the focus of Virat’s career.
Whether it was declaring himself as the new captain and leading India to ICC World Test Championship crowns or blasting a top Australian attack headed by Mitchell Johnson for 692 runs, including four hundreds, during the 2014–15 Australia tour. After scoring only 134 runs in 10 innings on his last trip to the UK, he had a fantastic redemption visit to England in 2018, scoring 593 runs with five fifty-plus scores. Along with making world-class hits at home, he survived elite bowling assaults in Centurion, Melbourne, Perth, and Edgbaston. Fans have many experiences to relive and treasure forever thanks to the 36-year-old.
