Karachi
\nFormer Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has paid tribute to Virat Kohli following the Indian batting icon\u2019s retirement from Test cricket, hailing his contribution to the game\u2019s longest format.
\nTaking to Instagram, Afridi wrote: \u201cCongratulations on a remarkable career @imVkohli. Your passion, intensity and professionalism set new standards in Test cricket.\u201d
\n\u201cThe purist format will miss your presence and competitive spirit,\u201d he added.
\nAfridi\u2019s message came in response to Kohli\u2019s announcement to step away from Test cricket. The 36-year-old Indian batter, who debuted in 2011, ends his red-ball career with 9,230 runs and 30 centuries in 123 matches, averaging 46.85.
\nKohli confirmed the decision via Instagram, calling Test cricket a format that tested and shaped him. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy \u2014 but it feels right,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThere\u2019s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever.\u201d
\nThe Indian stalwart\u2019s final Test was against Australia in January, marking the end of a glittering career in which he also became India\u2019s most successful Test captain.
\nKohli led his side in 68 matches, winning 40, losing just 17, and taking the team to the finals of the 2021 and 2023 World Test Championships.
\nIndia\u2019s next Test assignment is a five-match series against England beginning June 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has paid tribute to Virat Kohli following the Indian batting icon\u2019s retirement from Test cricket, hailing his contribution to the game\u2019s longest format. Taking to Instagram, Afridi wrote: \u201cCongratulations on a remarkable career @imVkohli. Your passion, intensity and professionalism set new standards in Test cricket.\u201d \u201cThe purist format will …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":80910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80911,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80895\/revisions\/80911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}