"He infused so much passion and so much character into the game" - Preity Zinta's heartfelt tribute to Virat Kohli after his Test retirement

Punjab Kings (PBKS) co-owner Preity Zinta wrote a heartfelt tribute message to Virat Kohli after his Test retirement. Kohli announced his decision to retire from Test cricket on Monday, May 12.

Preity Zinta put out a post on her official X (formerly Twitter) handle, saying she watched Test cricket mainly for Virat Kohli. Praising the star cricketer, she added that he brought a lot of passion and character into the game.

The PBKS co-owner also expressed that Test cricket would not be the same again without Kohli.

"I saw test cricket mainly for Virat. He infused so much passion and so much character into the game with his competitiveness & the desire to excel. I don’t think test cricket will ever be the same again. I wish him well and all the best for his future," her tweet read.

Preity Zinta also stated that the current players will have big shoes to fill with Rohit Sharma, Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin not playing Test cricket anymore.

"Our current Indian players will have big shoes to fill cuz the likes of Virat, Rohit & Ashwin are not playing test cricket anymore," she added.

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Virat Kohli will now only play ODI cricket for India

Virat Kohli had retired from T20Is after India won the 2024 T20I World Cup, where they beat South Africa in the final. He played 125 T20Is for India and scored 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 with one century and 38 half-centuries.

Having retired from Test cricket as well, the star batter will only be seen playing ODI cricket for India going forward. Kohli played 123 Tests and made 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.

In ODIs, the right-hander has played 302 matches so far and has amassed 14181 runs at an average of 57.88 and a strike-rate of 93.34. He has slammed 51 hundreds in the format to go with 74 half-centuries as well.

The next major ICC ODI event is the 2027 ODI World Cup. It remains to be seen whether Kohli will play the upcoming ODI World Cup or bring an end to his international career before the marquee tournament.