Sachin Tendulkar recalls Virat Kohli's heartwarming gesture while congratulating him on his test retirement

Virat Kohli announced his retirement from tests on May 12.

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli announced his retirement from test cricket on Monday, May 12. After his announcement, Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar shared a heart-warming post on social media to congratulate Kohli on his wonderful test career. He also recalled Kohli’s heartwarming gesture 12 years ago.

Kohli retired from tests five days Rohit Sharma’s test retirement. On May 7, Sharma announced his retirement from tests. However, both veteran players will continue to represent the Indian Cricket Team in ODIs. Interestingly, Kohli and Sharma also retired from T20Is simultaneously in June last year after winning ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Reportedly, Kohli was in talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over his test retirement for the last one month. However, the BCCI wanted him to reconsider his decision and be part of the Indian team in the forthcoming test series against England in June. However, he decided to stick with his decision.

Sachin Tendulkar recalls Virat Kohli’s heartwarming gesture 12 years ago

After Kohli announced his test retirement with an Instagram post on Monday, May 12, many former and active cricketers congratulated him on his successful career on social media. Tendulkar was one of them. The Master Blaster shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) for Kohli.

In his post, Tendulkar recalled a special gift that Kohli gave him 12 years ago when he retired from test cricket. Notably, Kohli gifted Tendulkar a sacred thread from his late father.

“As you retire from Tests, I’m reminded of your thoughtful gesture 12 years ago, during my last Test. You offered to gift me a thread from your late father. It was something too personal for me to accept, but the gesture was heartwarming and has stayed with me ever since”, Tendulkar said.

“While I may not have a thread to offer in return, please know that you carry my deepest admiration and very best wishes,” the 52-year-old further said. He also congratulated Kohli for his special test career. Have a look at the post below.

Notably, Tendulkar retired from all forms of cricket in November 2013 after a test match against West Indies. Tendulkar played a total of 200 tests for India – the most by any player till date.

Meanwhile, Kohli is part of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and will resume playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after BCCI restarts the tournament. IPL 2025 was suspended by BCCI due to security issues last week. Kohli has been the top run-scorer for RCB in the season so far.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.