We should have a clear answer this week on one of the biggest current issues in Indian cricket whether Virat Kohli will be available for the forthcoming five-Test series in England, or whether he has effectively retired from red-ball cricket.
The BCCI is still in talks with Kohli and is still hopeful he might rethink retirement from Tests, which first arose in conversation with board officials, almost in passing, after Kohli informed the BCCI of his decision just before Rohit Sharma himself also announced his departure from Test matches. The Board has tried to contact Kohli on numerous occasions and an official familiar with the conversations suggested that Kohli has not wavered.
The Sources said to the Times of India:
“Kohli had informed the selectors two weeks ago (about his desire to quit Tests). They were trying to persuade him to play in the Test series against England. However, he is still firm on his stance. The final call will come close to the selection meeting next week.”
Kohli is said to have told the selectors he was walking away from Tests almost a fortnight earlier during IPL 2025. That date has caused some people to raise an eyebrow, because of the recent BCCI announcement of new central contracts. Either way, fans and commentators alike across the country are keen for Kohli to have another run in England when the tour commences on June 20th.
The selectors will value Kohli's experience considerably, note it will be a young squad with Shubman Gill likely to be the new captain. Clearly they value Kohli's experience despite being out of form, having made 190 runs in nine innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and frequently getting out slashing at balls wide of off stump. Kohli's experience will be valuable, particularly in England. The BCA reports Sandip Patil (BCCI selector) suggested Kohli contemplated retirement in BGT, however it did not come to fruition.
Also Read |
| Rahul Dravid | 56 | 2645 | 217 | 55.10 | 8 | 15 |
| Virat Kohli | 73 | 2637 | 149 | 40.56 | 3 | 18 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 56 | 2626 | 193 | 49.54 | 7 | 12 |
| Rohit Sharma | 53 | 2287 | 140 | 50.82 | 9 | 10 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 42 | 1949 | 183 | 47.53 | 4 | 12 |
If Kohli follows through with his decision to retire, the selectors may choose Shreyas Iyer or Karun Nair as the No. 4 and Rajat Patidar could replace Sarfaraz Khan. Until then the cricket world will wait for Kohli's final decision, expected in the following days.
