India stalwart Virat Kohli's Test retirement has robbed the format of its biggest global star and its most influential advocate, leaving a vacuum that will be hard to fill.

Kohli has ended his 123-Test career having amassed 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, securing his position as a modern great of the game. 

Between 2014-2022, Kohli captained India to 40 wins in 68 Tests to become the country's most successful skipper in the format.

But the 36-year-old's lasting legacy in Test cricket lies beyond his truckload of runs and checked cover-drive, which is among the game's most beautiful shots.

Having succeeded Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's Test captain, "King Kohli" overhauled India's approach to turn the team into a ruthless juggernaut that did not rely anymore on designer dustbowls to win Test matches.

Kohli demanded, and helped create, a formidable pace pool in his single-minded pursuit to turn India into a team capable of winning Tests anywhere in the world.

Mostly they did.

He revolutionised the fitness culture in the India dressing room, turning a somewhat lax fielding side into a crack squad of electric-heel fielders.

Kohli led by example.