Former India player Suresh Raina wants the Indian government to honour Virat Kohli with the Bharat Ratna for his contributions to cricket. Kohli took retirement from Test cricket on May 12, just days before the announcement of the squad for the five-Test series against England.

Kohli revealed the news on social media last Monday, five days after his teammate Rohit Sharma had bid adieu to red-ball cricket. The 36-year-old scored 9230 runs in 123 Tests, including 30 hundreds.

Speaking to Star Sports on Saturday during the IPL 2025 game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders, Raina demanded the highest honour for the right-handed batter. “I feel the Indian government should honour him with the Bharat Ratna because of his achievements for India,” he said.

Sachin is the only sportsman to receive the Bharat Ratna. Winning it at 40 in 2014, he became the youngest recipient of the award.

Raina also urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to arrange Virat’s retirement match in Delhi, his home ground. “He should be given a retirement match in Delhi. His family and coach would get a chance to support him. He has done a lot for the country, and the BCCI should communicate with him because he deserves a retirement match,” he added.

Fans waited for some action at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, but the rain didn’t allow that to happen. They wanted to honour Virat Kohli after he walked away from the Test format, but he couldn’t take the field as the match was called off without a ball being bowled.