{"id":12815,"date":"2026-05-28T09:42:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T09:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement"},"modified":"2026-05-28T09:42:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T09:42:51","slug":"ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement","title":{"rendered":"Ian Botham Hails Virat Kohli\u2019s Passion for Test Cricket After Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Virat Kohli\u2019s bond with Test cricket remains a defining part of his legacy, even after he stepped away from the format. Widely celebrated as one of the finest Test batters of his era, Kohli has continued to speak about the deep meaning the longest format holds for him\u2014sentiments that recently drew strong praise from England great Ian Botham.<\/p>\n<h2>Kohli\u2019s Test retirement and the legacy he leaves behind<\/h2>\n<p>Kohli formally brought his Test career to a close on May 12, 2025. Over 123 matches, he amassed 9,230 runs and built a reputation not only as a match-defining batter, but also as one of India\u2019s most successful Test captains.<\/p>\n<p>Even after retiring from Test cricket, the former India captain has repeatedly shown that he still carries genuine pride and emotion for the format. His reflections have often returned to what Test cricket meant to him personally and what he considered India\u2019s achievements during his time at the helm.<\/p>\n<h2>Maiden IPL title, then Kohli\u2019s comparison to Tests<\/h2>\n<p>Only moments after finally winning his first IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025\u2014ending an 18-year wait\u2014Kohli addressed the significance of that achievement in public. While he admitted the IPL triumph ranks among the best moments of his career, he also placed it firmly below his love for Test cricket.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>After RCB\u2019s title win, Kohli said the moment sits among his career\u2019s finest, but still falls \u201cfive levels below\u201d Test cricket.<\/li>\n<li>He stressed that his affection for Test cricket and the value he assigns to it remain unmatched, even after tasting IPL success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Botham\u2019s praise and Kohli\u2019s Test-first mindset<\/h2>\n<p>England legend Ian Botham responded to Kohli\u2019s remarks with admiration, highlighting the mindset behind the Indian star\u2019s words. Botham framed Kohli\u2019s view of Test cricket as a clear indicator of his greatness, even when compared to the IPL and its unique pressures.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Botham said he particularly loves when Kohli reflects that winning Test matches for India matters more to him than anything else in the game.<\/li>\n<li>He added that, in his view, this outlook captures Kohli\u2019s character, \u201ceven including winning the IPL.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Botham also stated that he considers Kohli one of the finest players in Test cricket.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Botham made these comments during the 12th edition of the Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture, organised jointly by The Bengal Club and The Telegraph.<\/p>\n<h2>Emotional reflections on India\u2019s Test era under Kohli<\/h2>\n<p>In more recent remarks, during an RCB podcast, Kohli looked back on the years he spent playing Test cricket and leading India through memorable stretches of the format. He spoke about how the group he captained was driven by a shared desire to represent the country in Tests.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kohli described revisiting the period when he was able to play Test cricket for so long and guide India through outstanding victories.<\/li>\n<li>He referred to a \u201cgolden era\u201d in India\u2019s Test journey during his time.<\/li>\n<li>Kohli said the side consisted of young players who always wanted to play Test cricket for India.<\/li>\n<li>He added that they were given \u201cthe opportunity of our lives\u201d together as a group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Taken together, Kohli\u2019s comments\u2014both after his Test retirement and following his IPL title success\u2014continue to underline his deep respect for Test cricket and the passion he has carried for the format throughout his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virat Kohli\u2019s bond with Test cricket remains a defining part of his legacy, even after he stepped away from the format. Widely celebrated as one&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T09:42:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1281\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"711\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"Ian Botham Hails Virat Kohli\u2019s Passion for Test Cricket After Retirement\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T09:42:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\"},\"wordCount\":569,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\",\"name\":\"Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T09:42:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp\",\"width\":1281,\"height\":711},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ian Botham Hails Virat Kohli\u2019s Passion for Test Cricket After Retirement\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL","description":"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL","og_description":"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T09:42:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1281,"height":711,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"Ian Botham Hails Virat Kohli\u2019s Passion for Test Cricket After Retirement","datePublished":"2026-05-28T09:42:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement"},"wordCount":569,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement","name":"Ian Botham Praises Virat Kohli\u2019s Test Cricket Passion in IPL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-28T09:42:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"Ian Botham lauds Virat Kohli\u2019s love for Test cricket even after retirement, praising his passion and legacy as IPL chatter grows.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/love-when-virat-kohli-ian-b9e9.webp","width":1281,"height":711},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ian-botham-hails-virat-kohlis-passion-for-test-cricket-after-retirement#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ian Botham Hails Virat Kohli\u2019s Passion for Test Cricket After Retirement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}