Former Indian Captain Wanted Virat Kohli to Play England Tests Before Announcing Retirement
Dilip Vengsarkar says BCCI should have convinced Virat Kohli to play England Test series before retiring from the format.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar believes Virat Kohli should have been convinced to play one last Test series against England before retiring from the format.
Speaking to The Times of India, Vengsarkar suggested that BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar missed a trick by not persuading Kohli to stay on for the high-profile series.
“If I were the Indian chief selector, I would have persuaded Virat to bid goodbye to Test cricket after playing the England series. We needed his class and experience in this series,” Vengsarkar said.
Kohli announced his Test retirement in May, just weeks before the squad for the England tour was picked. The news came soon after Rohit Sharma also ended his Test career.
Both players had earlier stepped away from T20Is in June 2024 after India’s T20 World Cup win in Barbados.
In their absence, a young Indian side led by Shubman Gill fought hard to secure a 2-2 draw in the five-match series. Gill, who scored a record 754 runs in 10 innings, was named India’s Player of the Series and now holds the record for most runs by an Indian captain in a single contest.
Kohli explains his decision
Nearly a month after his announcement, Kohli opened up about his Test retirement at a charity event for Yuvraj Singh’s YouWeCan foundation.
“I just coloured my beard two days ago. You know it’s time when you are colouring your beard every four days,” he joked.
Kohli retires from Tests with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, ranking fourth on India’s all-time run-scorers list behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar.
Kohli’s next assignment will be a three-match ODI series against Australia in October, followed by a home series against South Africa.
