Virat Kohli announced his retirement just days before the Indian squad for the five-Test series against England was set to be revealed. Former India coach Ravi Shastri believes Kohli’s departure from Test cricket could have been managed more thoughtfully, as the star deserved a proper farewell. Shastri also mentioned that he would have reinstated Virat Kohl as captain after the Australia series.
Virat Kohl ended his Test career last month, having played 123 matches, scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries. “It’s only when you leave that people truly realize what a great player he was. I feel sad about how he left the game. I think it could have been handled better, with more communication,” Shastri said in a video shared by SonyLiv on social media.
Virat Kohl Retirement and the New Indian Test Squad Ahead of England Series
Virat Kohli’s decision to retire came just days before the Indian squad for the five-Test series against England was announced. Ravi Shastri, who coached India during their historic Test series wins in Australia under Kohli’s leadership, expressed that he would have reinstated Virat Kohl as captain following India’s 1-3 loss to Australia earlier this year. “If I had anything to do with it, I would have made him captain, straightaway after Australia,” Shastri said.
After Virat Kohls retirement and captain Rohit Sharma’s exit from Test cricket, the selectors appointed Shubman Gill as the new captain for the upcoming England series, starting June 20.
India’s Test Squad for England Series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
England Squad for First Test vs India: Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woake
