'Want to hit 4-5 centuries in the England series, like I did in 2018...': Delhi Ranji coach's shocking revelation as Virat Kohli announces Test retirement

Delhi's Ranji team coach and former India spinner Sarandeep Singh said that he is shocked by Virat Kohli's decision to announce retirement from Tests ahead of the five-Test match series against England, which is scheduled to start from June 20. Sarandeep recalled his conversation with Kohli during a Ranji match between Delhi and Railways, where he mentioned that the batting great told him he was keen to perform well in the five-Test series and was prepared to play practice games with the India A team in June.

After a dismal outing in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Kohli was featured for Delhi in their Ranji Trophy match against Railways, where he managed to score six runs. However, the former captain’s announcement of his Test retirement left many stunned. Sports Tak earlier reported that Kohli had informed the BCCI of his decision, but a top board official was trying to persuade the star cricketer to travel to England.

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While speaking to JioStar, Sarandeep said that Kohli told him during the Ranji Trophy match that he was eager to take up the responsibility as a senior batter in the team and wanted to score three or four tons in England. Team India will now travel to England without Kohli and Rohit who had already announced their retirement from the longest format of the game.

"Only he knows the reason (for his retirement). Everyone is shocked," Sarandeep said.

"There was no sign of it. Neither did I hear from anyone else about this. Look at the way he is performing in the IPL. He is in good form.

"I asked him if he would play a couple of County Cricket matches before the England tour. He said, 'No Paaji, I am looking to play India A matches. Two India A matches where I will prepare for the Test series.' He had a settled plan. Suddenly, seeing him end his red-ball career is surprising. He doesn’t have any fitness issues, no form issues," he said.

"If you look at the Australia tour, Virat is known for his big runs Down Under. He started with a century and didn’t get it. He was not satisfied with it.

"During the Ranji Trophy, he told me, 'I want to score three or four hundreds in England. I have to take responsibility being the senior batter in the team'," the coach added.

Kohli has ended his Test career as the fourth-highest run-getter behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Rahul Dravid (13,265 runs) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs). He scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties in 210 innings and the best score of 254* in 123 Test outings.