Kohli’s decision to quit Test cricket came ahead of the England tour.
Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011, played a key role in India's red-ball resurgence over the past decade with his aggressive captaincy, prolific batting and unmatched intensity.
The 36-year-old finished his Test career with 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 from 123 matches, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with the highest score of 254.
Kohli’s decision to quit Test cricket came ahead of the England tour. It was reported that the BCCI officials did their best to persuade the stalwart to change his mind, but the outcome was unsuccessful.
On Friday (May 23), former India opener Virender Sehwag insisted that Virat Kohli hung up his boots from the longest format prematurely.
Sehwag’s comment came after Kohli slammed 43 off 25 balls with seven boundaries and one six in RCB’s IPL 2025 fixture against SRH at Ekana Cricket Stadium.
“Definitely. I feel he retired too early from the Test format. He could've played easily for two years, the way he maintains fitness. But only Virat Kohli can tell the reasons behind the decision. It's a player's personal decision based on his will, or whether he feels exhausted,” Sehwag said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
“But according to me, the way he played, and the way he showed energy, it feels he could've easily played for two years,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BCCI selection committee on Saturday (May 24) unveiled India’s 18-member squad for the upcoming five-Test tour of England, with 25-year-old Shubman Gill named as the new captain.
Shubman was handed the leadership role ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who had already captained India in three Tests, including two matches in the absence of Rohit in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been appointed as vice-captain.
"We discussed every option that's there, over the last year or so, we've looked at Shubman at various times. Taken a lot of feedback from the dressing room. Very young, but there's been improvement.”
“We're hopeful he's the guy. He's a terrific player, our best wishes to him. You don't pick captains for one tour or two tours. We've seen some progress over the last year or two with him. No doubt it's going to be as tough as it gets," chief selector Ajit Agarkar told the media.
The marquee India-England series is slated to get underway on June 20 at Headingley, followed by matches at Lord's (June 28), Trent Bridge (July 6), The Oval (July 14), and Old Trafford (July 24).
India Squad for England Tests: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.