Virat Kohli revealed his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, May 12, marking a shift in Indian cricket as the team gears up for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The decision follows recent developments involving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its evolving selection approach.
Contrary to earlier assumptions that the BCCI would persuade Kohli to participate in India's five-match Test series against England beginning on June 20, 2025, new reports have suggested otherwise.
According to a Dainik Jagran report, rather than persuading Kohli to stay, the BCCI communicated that his place in the Test squad was uncertain due to a prolonged dip in form.
“The BCCI does not request anyone. A player’s decision is his personal choice. We don’t interfere in it,” a source told Dainik Jagran.
The report further claims that a similar message was delivered to Rohit Sharma during a meeting in Mumbai on May 7.
Kohli's reported desire to step away from Test cricket has sent ripples through the cricketing world.
A separate update from the PTI suggested that the selectors were, at one point, contemplating giving him back the captaincy for the England series to give younger players like Shubman Gill more time to develop.
"It is true that selectors did think about having Kohli as India skipper for the England series. This would have given Gill some time to grow into leadership role but at 25-and-a-half years of age, he is yet to hit his peak. Due to Bumrah's fitness issues, Gill looks like the obvious choice for Ajit Agarkar's committee," a BCCI source privy to development said.
Kohli's recent performances in the format have been underwhelming. In what may have been his final Test series, he managed only 190 runs across five matches in Australia, averaging just over 23. Notably, more than half of those runs came in a single innings—his 30th Test hundred, scored in Perth. His earlier showing against New Zealand was even less impressive, with only 93 runs in six innings at a disappointing average of 15.50.