Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic congratulated star Indian batter Virat Kohli for a remarkable Test career on Monday. Virat sent shockwaves across the cricketing fraternity and the Indian team into a need for a sudden and challenging transition, just days after batter Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format ahead of India’s tour to England of five Tests, which will start the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, took to Instagram to congratulate Virat on a successful Test career, saying, “Incredible innings!”. Notably, Virat shares a great bond with Djokovic and has even admitted to exchanging texts with him.
In an interview with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in January last year, Virat said, “I got in touch with Novak very organically. I was just looking at his Instagram profile once and happened to press his “Message” button. I thought I would say him ‘Hello, maybe.’ Then I saw a message from him on my DM already. I never saw it myself. The first time I saw my own messages, I saw that he had messaged me himself. Then I was like, let us check if it is a fake account or not. But then I checked it, and it was legitimate. Then we started talking, exchanging messages every now and then. I would congratulate him on all of his fantastic achievements,” recalled Virat during that interview.
Virat said that when he got his 50th ODI century during the ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal against New Zealand last year, Djokovic sent him a nice message and put up a story for him, congratulating him.
“There has been mutual admiration and respect. It is nice to connect with global athletes who are excelling at a high level. Collectively, it is sending out a message of inspiration to the next generation in a way,” said Virat.
Virat had also said that he has a lot of respect for Djokovic, his journey as a player, and his passion for fitness. He expressed hope of meeting the Serbian icon soon.”I have a lot of respect for him and his journey; his passion for fitness is something I follow and believe in myself. So there is a lot to connect on. Hopefully, when he comes to India or if I happen to be in a country where he is playing.”
Various other sporting personalities such as India’s World Champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, England and Bayern Munich footballer Harry Kane, Indian table tennis star Manika Batra also congratulated Virat on a successful Test career in the comments section of Virat’s official retirement statement on Instagram.
He made his Test debut in June 2011 against the West Indies. While his first Test tour was a massive disappointment with just 76 runs in five innings, a young Virat made a name for himself with some serious, counter-attacking knocks in the coming days.
His rise as a Test player started with his maiden ton against Australia at Adelaide in 2012, when he made 116 in 213 balls. In a tour where no other could touch 300 runs for India and giants like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Virender Sehwag looked a shadow of their dominant selves, Virat top-scored for India with 300 runs in four Tests, including a century and fifty.
Between 2011 and 2015, he made 2,994 runs in 41 Tests at an average of 44.03, with 11 centuries and 12 fifties in 72 innings.
Between 2016 and 2019, Virat had one of the strongest batting primes ever for a Test cricketer, piling up 4,208 runs in 43 Tests at an average of 66.79, with 16 centuries and 10 fifties in 69 innings and the best score of 254*. This also included seven double centuries, most by a captain in Test cricket history.
However, the 2020s have not been great for the superstar batter, having made just 2,028 runs in 39 Tests at an underwhelming average of 30.72, with just three centuries and nine fifties to show in 69 innings. His numbers received a boost from a fine 2023, where he made 671 runs in eight Tests at an average of 55.91, with two centuries and two fifties in 12 innings.
During this whole time frame, Virat battled some notable weaknesses in the format, notably against deliveries outside the off-stump line and against spinners.
He ended last year with just 382 runs in 10 Tests at a shocking average of 22.47, with just one century and fifty in 19 innings. His last Test outing was the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia from November-January, where he made just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75, with his century at Perth being a highlight.
That century was his first since July 2023, when he hit a ton against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 2023. Also, his last century at home came against Australia in early 2023 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Ahmedabad.
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