New Delhi: On Sunday, the Test giant of India, Cheteshwar Pujara, announced his retirement from all formats of cricket and once again, it reminded fans of the transition phase in Indian cricket in 2025. So far, this year has been a rollercoaster ride for cricket enthusiasts due to the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket.Now, only two players from the “OG Generation”, as quoted by former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, are still active in international Test cricket for India: Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja. Notably, Ashwin named five players: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravindra Jadeja.With the generation of players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mohammed Siraj kicking off the new era of Indian cricket, let’s revisit the adieus of Indian Test cricket bigwigs this year.On May 12, 2025, Virat Kohli officially stepped down from Test cricket, ending a prolific 14-year chapter that redefined batting excellence. He mentioned how the longest format of cricket shaped him and gave him life lessons.He retired with 123 Tests and over 9,200 runs, known especially for his dominance against Australia. Notably, he hit nine centuries against the Aussies in his career. Kohli’s retirement was an expected shock for the fans; it was around the corner, but seemed early for a fitness enthusiast like India’s cricketing star.He did not cite any particular reason why, but the reason for his retirement was expected to be declining performance, struggles with the moving ball outside the off-stump, and age. Moreover, white-ball cricket and franchise cricket focus were also expected to be the reasons for Kohli’s retirement.Shortly before Kohli, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7, 2025, through Instagram story. Like Virat Kohli, Rohit also did not make it clear why he retired, but the declining performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as a captain and batter was cited as the reason for his retirement.That’s why at the age of 38, Rohit hanged his boots. His Test career spanned 67 matches, yielding 12 centuries and an average above 40. His Test legacy might not be as brilliant as his ODI career, but the stability he brought to the team as an opener kept India’s Test squad stable.Pujara might have retired from all formats of cricket on August 25, 2025, but he had retired from international Test cricket long ago. Pujara’s last Test appearance was against Australia in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in June 2023.He has scored 7,195 Test runs at an average of 43.60 in the longest format of cricket, with 19 hundreds and 35 fifties. By the time Pujara retired two years ago, the former no.3 batter was India’s eighth-highest Test run-getter.His most acclaimed performances include scoring 521 runs in the 2018–19 Australia series. Especially his gritty 56 runs knock off 211 balls in the 2021 Gabba win is the most famous one from the series. Interestingly, he absorbed countless blows but refused to budge and ultimately led India to a historic victory.Lastly, the man who listed all these players, R Ashwin, retired from the Test format on December 18, 2024. He announced it at the end of the third Test match against Australia in Brisbane. The announcement was made during the post-match press conference, where he confirmed it was his last day playing for India at the international level. In 106 matches that he played, he scored a whopping 3503 runs and took 537 wickets.The voids left by these Test legends present both challenge and opportunity. India must now lean on a cadre of rising talent like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and others to navigate through the next phase of Test cricket.
