5 Indian players who started their Test careers with or after Virat Kohli but have announced retirement already
With Virat Kohli's debut Test match being held from June 20-24, 2011, fans across the globe are celebrating 11 years of Kohli in Test cricket this week. While Kohli could not score big in his first Test appearance for India, he is currently one of the leading run-getters for the nation in the longest format of the game.
As of June 2022, Virat Kohli has scored 8,043 runs in 171 Test innings at a magnificent average of 49.96. He has not scored a single Test ton since November 2019, but has 27 Test hundreds to his name. Virat has also scored 28 fifties and seven double centuries in his Test career.
Kohli has achieved massive success in Test cricket, but not every player who debuted with or after the former India captain could make it big. On that note, we will look at the five players who started their Test careers with or after Kohli but have hung up their boots already.
#1 Vinay Kumar
In January 2012, Vinay Kumar received his maiden Test cap ahead of a match against Australia in Perth. India lost that game by an innings and 37 runs. Kumar got an opportunity to bowl in one innings, where he returned with figures of 1/73.
The right-arm fast bowler scalped Michael Hussey's wicket to open his account in Test cricket. Unfortunately, it proved to be Vinay's last Test wicket as well, as he did not get another game after his debut. He ultimately announced his retirement in 2021.
#2 Stuart Binny
Former Indian all-rounder Stuart Binny made his Test debut in 2014. He impressed straightaway, scoring 78 runs on debut against England at Lord's. However, his scoring graph went down after that knock.
Binny aggregated 194 runs in 10 Test innings and took three wickets with his right-arm medium pace. The all-rounder played his last Test under Virat Kohli's captaincy in 2015 before announcing his retirement in 2021.
#3 Pankaj Singh
Another player who made his debut on that tour of England in 2014 was Pankaj Singh. The right-arm fast bowler played two Tests in that series, picking up two wickets for the country.
Singh never played a Test on home soil. He worked hard in domestic cricket for many years before announcing his retirement in 2021.
#4 Naman Ojha made his debut under Virat Kohli's captaincy
Naman Ojha played the solitary Test match of his career against Sri Lanka in 2015. The wicketkeeper-batter returned with scores of 21 & 35 in that game, but was not retained in the playing XI for the next Test.
Ojha never played another Test for India. He retired from all formats of cricket in February last year.
#5 Praveen Kumar made his Test debut with Virat Kohli
Praveen Kumar and Abhinav Mukund also made their Test debuts alongside Virat Kohli in the match against West Indies 11 years ago. Mukund is yet to announce his retirement, but Kumar called it a day on his career in October 2018.
Nicknamed Swing King, Kumar has played only six Tests for India, bagging 27 wickets. His injury issues did not allow him to realize his full potential.