'Virat reached out early April and...': Ajit Agarkar's massive revelation on Kohli's Test retirement ahead of India vs England Test series

"When guys like that retire, always big holes to fill. Ashwin also retired. Those three have been stalwarts. Always difficult. One way of looking at it is, opportunity for someone else. Had conversations with both of them. Virat reached out early April, seem him give 200% every ball he plays even when he's not batting or on the field. Felt he'd given everything he had, if he can't keep up to the standards it was time for him. It's come from him. Have to respect that. They've earned that respect" said Agarkar. 

Kohli's last Test outing came during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia, where the batting great managed to score 190 runs in five Test outings. He started the series with an unbeaten ton in the first Test but failed to carry the momentum further. 

Before Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma had also announced his retirement from Tests and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Shubman Gill as India's new captain. 

India vs England five-Test match schedule

India squad for England series

Shubman Gill(C), Rishabh Pant(vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Parishdh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav