Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
On May 8, 2025, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Tests through an Instagram story. At 38, and after a poor tour of Australia (31 from five innings) during which he dropped himself from the final Test in Sydney, the writing seemed on the wall. Sharma played 67 Tests scoring 4,301 runs at an average of 40.6 with 12 hundred and 18 half-centuries. His highest score in Tests was 212.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli.
| Photo Credit:
AP
On May 12, 2025, Virat Kohli followed suit to bring an end to a decorated Test career. After scoring a hundred in Perth in the first Test versus Australia, Kohli endured a torrid time. He eventually finished on 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs with an average of 46.9. He made 30 hundreds and 31 half-centuries, with the unbeaten 254 his highest. With 40 wins, he is statistically India’s best captain.
Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
On December 7, 2025, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba played the final matches of their professional careers in Inter Miami’s 3-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Busquets was one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation, and formed that famed trio at Barcelona with Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez behind the leader in Lionel Messi.
Chesteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu
On August 24, 2025, Cheteshwar Pujara, one of the foremost Test specialists in the 21st century, retired from all forms of cricket. As No. 3, he held the Indian batting line-up together and played stellar roles in India’s twin triumphs in Australia, in 2018-19 and 2020-21. From 103 Tests, he made 7,195 runs with 19 centuries and 35 fifties.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce.
| Photo Credit:
Emmanual Yogini
Champion Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce retired from competitive sport in October. Gold medallist in women’s 100m at 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, Fraser-Pryce finished her career with eight Olympic medals and 17 World Championship medals.
Petra Kvitova
Peter Kvitova.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
On August 25, 2025, two-time Wimbledon women’s singles winner Petra Kvitova retired after the U.S. Open. The star from Czechia triumphed at the All England club in 2011 and 2014, reached as high as No. 2 in the world and was part of her nation’s golden generation that won the Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) six times from 2011 to 2018. In late 2016, Kvitova even survived a knife attack and reached the final of the Australian Open in 2019.
Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Eliud Kipchoge, the double Olympic marathon champion (2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo), retired after the New York Marathon in November. The Kenyan won 16 of the 23 competitive marathons he ran, with 11 coming at the marathon majors, making him the most decorated athlete, male or female. Kipchoge held the men’s marathon world record twice, and was even part of Nike’s Breaking2 project in 2017, the audacious attempt to break the two-hour barrier.
Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna
| Photo Credit:
PTI
On November 1, 2025, India’s doubles star Rohan Bopanna rested his racquet at the end of the 2025 tennis season. At the 2024 Australian Open which he won alongside Matthew Ebden, Bopanna, at 43, became the oldest man to occupy the World No. 1 position and also the oldest men’s Slam winner. He finished his career with two Majors, having won the 2017 French Open mixed doubles crown with Gabriela Dabrowski. He is only one of four Indians to have won Majors, with Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza the others.
Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Nicholas Pooran, West Indies’ Twenty20 record-holder for runs and appearances, retired from international cricket on June 10, 2025. Pooran, 29, made the announcement on Instagram. “Wearing that maroon, standing for the anthem, and giving everything I had each time I stepped on the field… it’s hard to put into words what that truly means to me,” he wrote. “To have led the team as captain is a privilege I will always hold close to my heart.”
Published – January 01, 2026 09:50 am IST
