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Virat Kohli Pens Emotional Tribute After Ajinkya Rahane Announces International Retirement

Cricket Gully | July 31, 2026 2:39 AM CST

Ajinkya Rahane, who had earlier expressed his intention to play no more international cricket after the T20 World Cup, made the declaration of his retirement from all types of international cricket on Thursday in a video message. And not too soon after this, the wishes of course began to pour in from his fellow players, fans, and others in the cricketing world.

One of the early tributes that came was from Virat Kohli himself. In his highly emotional post on his social media account, he conveyed his strong bond with Rahane during their long stint as Test batsmen. He also recalled one of the most reliable partnerships for India on the field when things became difficult.

Virat Kohli calls Rahane his favourite Test batting partner

Kohli and Rahane played together in 78 Test matches between 2011 and 2023. During that stretch, they became this major part of India’s middle order, and honestly they also worked very closely together as captain and vice-captain for different phases.

In his tribute, Kohli praised Rahane for how much he contributed to Indian cricket. He even called him his favourite batting partner in Test cricket, and added that Rahane’s work in the slips was top notch, like really useful. Here’s what Kohli wrote on X:

Once Kohli’s message went out, it became a hit with fans too. Many people replayed in their minds those important innings, the ones where Kohli and Rahane steadied the ship for India in difficult situations.

Kohli and Rahane built one of India’s best Test partnerships

In Test cricket the Kohli-Rahane duo had real success. They managed to score more runs together than any other Indian batting pair did during Rahane’s career, which is a big line to be honest.

In 67 innings, the pair put together 3,661 runs, at an average of 56.32. They produced 10 century partnerships and 17 half-century stands, and those efforts helped India end up winning several major Tests.

Their biggest partnership, by the way, came against New Zealand in Indore in 2016. India had already lost three early wickets, and Rahane came in at the crease alongside Kohli. From there, the duo stitched together 365 runs for the fourth wicket. Kohli made 211, and Rahane went on to score 188—his best at the time. India then declared at 557/5, and afterwards they pretty much took control of the match.

The two also had that leader-to-leader understanding. Kohli was known for going hard with his approach, while Rahane carried this calmness into the team. Rahane captained India in six Tests when Kohli wasn’t available—India won four and drew two. His most memorable captaincy moment was in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where India clinched a memorable series win after dropping the first Test.

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Rahane leaves behind an impressive international career

Ajinkya Rahane ends his international journey as one of India’s reliable Test batters, specially in overseas conditions, where many batters struggle.

He played 85 Tests and scored 5,077 runs, averaging 38.46. His overall record includes 12 centuries and 26 half-centuries. Between 2014 and 2018, he was among India’s key performers during that successful run.

In One-Day Internationals, Rahane wore the India jersey in 90 games. He piled up 2,962 runs, with three centuries and 24 fifties. He also played 20 T20 Internationals, scoring 375 runs, and included one fifty.

Rahane’s last international outing was in Port of Spain in 2023, soon after he made a return to the Test side for the World Test Championship Final at The Oval. Even if the international part is done now, his contributions, whether with the bat, in the slips, or as a leader, will keep getting remembered by cricket fans in India, for sure.