Michael Atherton recently expressed his admiration for Kohli, saying that he cherished every bit of watching Virat being a part in 123 Tests. Kohli bid farewell to Test cricket just before India’s scheduled five-Test tour of England. In his career, Kohli has amassed 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 hundreds to his name. He has captained India in 68 Tests with 40 wins, the most by any Indian.
I loved watching him play every day of his 123 Tests. You couldn’t take your eyes off Kohli. Kohli really put his heart and soul into Test cricket, and his energy was always high,” Atherton said during a chat on Sky Sports Cricket. He further added that Kohli took the elements of hard Test cricket and lifted them into another dimension.
Read Also: Javed Akhtar Urges Virat Kohli to Reconsider Test Retirement
"Kohli's aura, passion and swagger transformed Indian cricket" 🙌
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 14, 2025
Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton react to the news of Virat Kohli's retirement on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/DnSejGWsBJ
Atherton added, “I pity whoever takes his place at No 4.” His former team-mate Nasser Hussain also expressed the same sentiments and said that Kohli was more than his stats; he was a unique presence and passion that embodied cricket in India like no one else.
India attained the No. 1 Test ranking during Kohli’s tenure and held onto it for more than three years. “He’s not going onto the field to play if he’s going to be 99 percent. Everything for Kohli is about winning,” Hussain said, speaking about Kohli’s intense competitiveness. India were scheduled to take on England in a five-match Test series starting 20 June, which will witness the initiation of the cycle for World Test Championship 2025-27.
