Not Rohit Sharma! Virat Kohli's last red-ball captain issues official statement on his unexpected retirement

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) batter Ayush Badoni shared a special moment from his domestic cricket journey following legendary cricketer Virat Kohli's retirement from international cricket. Badoni admitted he never imagined that the match under his captaincy would be Kohli’s last outing in red-ball cricket.

Earlier this year, Virat made his return to the Ranji Trophy. He played for Delhi in a match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The game drew massive crowds eager to witness the star batter in action. Delhi secured a comfortable victory, unaware that it would be Kohli’s final outing in red-ball cricket.

Never Knew This Was Gonna Be Your Last Red-Ball Game - Ayush Badoni Shares Memories

Ayush Badoni took to Instagram to share a throwback photo from a practice session ahead of Delhi's Ranji Trophy clash with Railways. He expressed surprise that the match would turn out to be Virat Kohli’s final appearance in red-ball cricket.

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“Never knew this was gonna be your last red-ball game (heartbreak emoji),” Badoni wrote.

Instagram story by Virat Kohli's last Red ball Captain. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/TyIrWVAJq2

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 12, 2025

Virat Kohli Scored Just 6 in His Final First-Class Match for Delhi

In his final first-class appearance, Virat Kohli scored just 6 runs off 15 balls while batting at number four for Delhi against Railways in the Ranji Trophy. His brief stay at the crease ended when Himanshu Sangwan bowled him.

Railways posted 241 runs in their first innings, but Delhi responded with 374, with fifties from skipper Ayush Badoni and Sumit Mathur. Railways were bowled out for 114 in their second innings. Delhi secured an innings-and-19-run win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Kohli’s return to domestic red-ball cricket had sparked hopes of a continued presence in the Test format, but with his recent retirement announcement, the Indian great will now focus solely on ODIs at the international level.

Virat Kohli Retired from Test Cricket as One of India's All-Time Greats

Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket as one of India's all-time greats, finishing as the country's fourth-highest run-scorer in the format. He made his debut for India in Tests in 2011. Kohli scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties.

The 36-year-old batter is behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) on the all-time list. As India prepare for the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle, replacing a player of Kohli’s calibre will be a major challenge.

The right-handed batter is currently focused on the remainder of the IPL 2025 season, where he has amassed 505 runs in 11 innings at an average of over 63 and a strike rate of 143.46. All seven of his fifties have come in matches that Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won.

With eight victories from 11 games, RCB are second on the points table and need just one more win to confirm a playoff spot. Despite three previous appearances in the final, the franchise is still chasing its first IPL title.

Also read: Watch: Bangladesh penalized heavily after wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan’s bizarre and shocking tactic vs New Zealand