Virat Kohli's wholesome message on completing 12 years of Test cricket gives 'mini heart-attack'

On the special day, Virat Kohli, who has always been highly vocal about his love for Test cricket, took to his social media handles to express his gratitude.

June 20 will forever hold a special place in Indian cricket as it was on this very date that three of the country's greatest cricketers made their Test debuts – Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli. While Ganguly and Dravid made a blockbuster entry into the cauldron of Test cricket in 1996, scoring a century and 95 respectively, Kohli's entry was more of a whimper than a bang – he scored 4 and 15 against West Indies in Kingston in 2011 and finished the series with a forgettable 76 runs from three Tests. However, MS Dhoni's unshakeable belief in Kohli allowed the youngster to stay on for the four-Test series against Australia later in the year… and the rest as they say is history. With a cracking 76 in Perth, followed by his maiden Test century in Adelaide, Kohli had arrived. Twelve years later, he is still around, easily as one of the game's greatest batters.

How many more years does Virat Kohli have left? (AFP)

On a special day, Kohli, who has always been highly vocal about his love for Test cricket, took to his social media handles to share an equally special message: "12 years in Test cricket today. Forever grateful". Kohli's post has once again become an instant hit with fans; however, for some, it came as a 'mini heart-attack' as certain followers in the glance, perceived it as a retirement post.

The picture Kohli posted - of him playing one of his trademark cover drives - sent shockwaves to some fans before they read the caption which settled their nerves. "Mini heart attack just came When I saw the picture for a second, I thought it was post for his retirement in Test cricket," wrote one user on Kohli's Instagram post, while another typed: "Mini heart-attack, I thought The King posted a retirement message."

The sentiments of these fans are understandable though as Kohli has, in the past, made a couple of unexpected announcements, both of them via Twitter and Instagram. In October of 2021, he declared that after the completion of the T20 World Cup, he would step down as India's T20I captain. But while the announcement was on expected lines, no one saw Kohli's decision to relinquish India's Test captaincy coming when he made the announcement on January 15, 2022 following the team's 1-2 defeat in South Africa.

There is hardly a better love story in Indian cricket than Kohli and Test matches. Not only as a batter, but Kohli also revolutionised Test cricket for India as captain, leading the team to five consecutive Test mazes – a reward for India finishing five consecutive years as the No. 1-ranked Test team. Kohli, along with coach Ravi Shastri revolutionised Test cricket for India by first triggering a turnaround in fitness standards – the Yo-Yo test – and then assembling a lethal fast-bowling unit that would break the back of oppositions. With Kohli at the helm, India became the strong touring team, registering back-to-back Test series wins in Australia and drawing one in England. Kohli finished as India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins - miles ahead of Dhoni, who notched up 27 victories.

In 2018, Kohli won the ICC Test Player of the Year award to go with the ODI award, making him the first player to bag both awards the same year. As a batter, Kohli needs no introduction, and with 8479 runs from 109 Tests, is India's sixth-highest run-getter in the format behind legends Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag.

As Kohli celebrates competing another milestone in Test cricket, he received a special praise from Kevin Pietersen, one of his greatest admirers and someone who constantly backed VK to the hilt when he was enduring a rough patch last year.

"Virat Kohli is a wonderful player of spin. I mean without sweep or reverse sweep, the way Virat plays spin is incredible. I mean, you can watch him bat. Mentally, you can see him batting there, so you can sort of understand that," he said during the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston.