How Virat Kohli made cricket famous
Do you remember that day in May 13, 2025? One Instagram post, and it caused a whole storm of feelings. Virat Kohli, the real “King,” announced his retirement from Test cricket. He wrote that “the time has come.” However, we think everyone remembers how Virat Kohli made cricket famous. Behind this sad decision were not the most successful recent matches, but also the fatigue that had accumulated over the years, and a simple human desire to be with family, to focus on his fund and business. This wasn’t just news, but a farewell to an entire era.
How Virat Kohli Made Cricket Famous: Numbers and Achievements
His stats include 9,230 runs — numbers that place Virat in the top five in history. But his legacy isn’t in numbers. He’s 36, and he’s already left the T20 team after winning the World Cup in 2024. It’s said he might remain at ODI. But the era Kohli in Test cricket seems to have ended.
What a path it was! The debut in 2011, against the West Indies, and the last match in January, against Australia. There is a whole life between them. What is its uniqueness? He scored centuries against every country he came. As much as 30 in his career in a test cricket. Moreover, more than half of them are on the road! This is not at home, on the native fields. It’s just incredible.
And his golden years, from 2014 to 2019, were pure magic. Then he became part of the “magnificent four” of the best batsmen in the world. In just a year and a half, six Half Centures. Thirteen months at the top of the world ranking.
Leadership and influence
For many, he is the greatest captain in Test Cricket in the history of India. From 2014 to 2022, under his leadership, the team hasn’t lost a single home series. And from 2016 to 2020, it was the best in the world. That very first victory in Test cricket in Australia in 2018-19? This is all he.
But it’s not only about victories. He was different. With fire in the eyes, aggressive, uncompromising. He literally turned the team’s thinking upside down, making it tougher and stronger. Kohli demanded from everyone the highest level of physical fitness, raised the bar for training. He made a bet on fast bowlers and it was a real revolution for India. Fitness tests, diets, recovery, all this is now the norm.
His inner fire, which made him great, sometimes burned. Constant clashes with opponents, emotional celebrations, all this annoyed conservative fans. Especially in Australia, where he had a difficult relationship with both the players and the stands. But perhaps without this nature there would not have been the Kohli that we all loved.
What will we remember? Fans know how Virat Kohli Made Cricket Famous. He changed the attitude to this sport, created a team that became faster, stronger and more successful.
But what is even more important? He was the main ambassador of Test cricket. In the era, when everyone goes crazy about T20, he made the classics alive and important. Kohli sincerely wanted him to flourish, understanding that true respect comes through dominance in the most complex format.
And his influence outside the field? 273 million Instagram followers, more than LeBron James and Tom Brady combined. Even the organizers of the Olympics-2028 in Los Angeles, referred to his phenomenal popularity.
He was called differently: both “giant” and “provocateur”. But one thing is undeniable, Kohli has elevated Test Cricket to the level of spectacle. His incredible energy pulled to the maximum not only India, but also its opponents.
