For the second consecutive year, India has ended their home season with a whitewash. From an extreme dominance, where India lost no home series for 12 years, to an all-time low. New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa in 2025.
In between these series, Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket. The man who built the greatest empire in India’s history hung up his boots in May 2025. Kohli, as captain, had series wins in Australia and lost just 2 matches at home.
New Year’s Wish: Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement U-Turn
He took fitness to another level. As the biggest star in cricket, he took it upon himself to promote Test cricket. Moments after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy, a dream in the making for 18 years, Kohli hailed Test cricket as being on five levels above anything else.
On the cusp of 2026, Navjot Singh Sindu has shared his wish for the New Year. The former Indian cricketer wants to see Kohli back in the whites for India.
“If God granted me a wish I’d say bring Kohli out of his retirement & make him play Test Cricket …. Nothing would give more joy and ecstasy to a country of 1.5 billion! His fitness is that of a twenty-year-old – he himself 24 carat gold,” Sidhu wrote on Instagram.
Kohli himself has ruled the proposition out. After scoring his 52nd ODI hundred against South Africa earlier in the month, the former India captain clearly stated that he won’t be making a comeback in either Test or T20I cricket. “That’s how it’s always going to be – I’m just playing one format of the game now,” Kohli had said.
India’s next Test assignment will be a 2-match tour away from home against Sri Lanka in August 2026.
