On Monday, May 12, the cricket community said goodbye to India’s iconic batsman Virat Kohli, who announced his retirement from the Test format. Prior to the England series, he declared his retirement from Test cricket. Since this will be the inaugural series for both teams and the start of the World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle, India will never again have Kohli in the whites.

The two-time world champion’s retirement and the possible reason for accepting this call have been the subject of multiple publications.

According to a recent report, Virat did not appear to be happy with the current management environment, where he did not feel as free as he did in the previous dressing room, even after being informed of the decision to hand leadership over to a younger player.

It was also reported that Virat Kohli had contacted former BCCI secretary and current ICC chairman Jay Shah, as well as former head coach Ravi Shastri.

Nevertheless, neither the specifics nor the substance of these discussions have emerged. According to the report, the 36-year-old former Test captain had at least two phone discussions with head selector Ajit Agarkar, but none of them caused Kohli to change his mind about his choice.

Who will captain India’s next Test match?

Although recent reports indicate that rising stars Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill will be the front-runners to lead the team in red ball cricket, some cricket experts have also recommended players like KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah, who both possess the skills and experience necessary to lead the team in the five-day format.

The team’s leader for the forthcoming five-match Test series, which will begin on June 20 with the opening match in Headingley, Leeds, is still up in the air. In comparison to the team that travelled to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25, the circumstances in England will be extremely difficult for a youthful and somewhat inexperienced team.