NEW DELHI: As the world paused to celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli seized the moment to honour the women who shaped his life. Taking to Instagram, Kohli shared photographs featuring his wife Anushka Sharma and their young child, alongside childhood snapshots of himself with his own mother and Anushka with her mother.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers of the world,” Kohli wrote. “I was born to one, accepted by one as a son, and have seen one grow into a strong, nurturing, loving, and protective mother to our children. We love you more and more every day @anushkasharma.”Kohli’s affectionate tribute comes amid a week-long suspension of the 2025 Indian Premier League, giving players the rare opportunity to reconnect with family. The modern-day batting legend has been spending his hiatus surrounded by loved ones, finding solace off the field.Who’s that IPL player?However, the cricketing fraternity has been abuzz since Saturday after TimesofIndia.com reported that Kohli is contemplating retirement from Test cricket. In response, West Indies legend Brian Lara took to social media on Saturday to issue a rallying cry: “Test cricket needs Virat!! He is going to be persuaded. He is NOT going to retire from Test cricket… @virat.kohli is going to average above 60 for the remainder of his Test career.” Lara’s confident assertion underscores Kohli’s enduring importance to the longest format.Since his debut in 2011, Kohli has accumulated 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85 in 123 Tests, including 30 centuries. With recent retirements of senior figures like Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, Kohli’s presence is widely viewed as pivotal to India’s red-ball transition.
While Kohli has yet to issue an official statement on his Test future, his Mother’s Day message provided a timely reminder of the personal foundations that continue to inspire his storied career.
