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A relatively young Indian side will be touring England for the five-Test series under the leadership of Shubman Gill. After Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma's retirement, Virat Kohli deciding to quit his favourite format shocked many. But, former England spinner Monty Panesar speculates that maybe Kohli was told by Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee and head coach Gautam Gambhir that if he doesn't perform in first two matches, he won't play all five games. Panesar feels that was the reason behind Kohli retiring from Tests ahead of England tour even though Agarkar said that the 36-year-old informed about his decision in April.
"I think he was definitely going to play. I think England were expecting, everyone was expecting him to play. I'm surprised he's kind of like bailed out. But maybe the fact that outside off-stump, he's just thinking, well, you know, they may have had a word with him. They said, look, if you don't score well in the first couple of Test matches, don't expect to play all the five. So, he's probably thinking, well, I'll just call it a day and give the youngsters a go," Panesar told Hindustan Times.
Kohli's Test record in England
Despite a poor tour of 2014, Kohli averages over 33 on England soil. He has 1,096 runs including two centuries and five fifties in England in red-ball format. On the previous tour of England, Kohli had scored 218 runs from seven innings at an average of 31.14, including two half-centuries.
Panesar on Gill as Test captain
Panesar shared his thoughts on Gill taking over as Test captain after Rohit's retirement. He backs Gill to perform but pointed out that he is lazy with his footwork.
"I think they had to go with Shubman Gill. It will make him a better leader, I think he will bat better under some responsibility. Sometimes he gets a bit lazy with his footwork, once he gets to 30 or 40, but when he's responsible, he's captain. I reckon he'll switch on, and we'll see a better version of Shubhman Gill," he said.
Gill will travel to England alongside Sai Sudharsan for the second India A game against England Lions which starts on June 6. The Test series is scheduled to begin on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.
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