According to Australian legend Ian Chappell, India will benefit greatly from Virat Kohli's experience in England, but he needs to cease his senseless antics. He expressed faith in Virat Kohli in an ESPNcricinfo column, predicting that the batter would eventually return to his previous level of play. However, the player contended that Virat Kohli must concentrate on becoming more reliable during a series to regain his form. Even though he scored a century in the opening game, Kohli had a terrible time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–2025. After that century, Kohli's form continued to deteriorate, and he was frequently dismissed for edging balls outside of off stump. Although the hitter made a century in his opening match of the series, he concluded with 190 runs after 5 Tests.
Ian Chappell on Virat Kohli
Chappell made the case in his column that the Indian team would suffer a great loss if Virat Kohli retired, leaving a significant void before a challenging tour of England.
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"Kohli's experience in the UK would be invaluable, and of the two problematic players he's the most likely to be resuscitated. However, his consistency needs to improve in addition to dispensing valuable advice to younger players. He also has to stop his senseless antics like shouldering Sam Konstas in the MCG Test. If Kohli does decide to retire from Test cricket, the loss of both him and Rohit would leave a huge gap in the line-up for a tough tour," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
"For India the two big question marks are leading batters, and the selectors have tough decisions to make regarding Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The soon-to-be-38-year-old Rohit, facing a crammed five-Test series against England in a few months, is a doubtful quantity. Although India are extremely reluctant to part with star players, lately Rohit has struggled technically and his absence would provide uncertainty over the opening position and the captaincy," added Chappell.
Chappell on India's next Test captain
In addition, Chappell expressed his opinions on the Indian Test captaincy controversy, saying that KL Rahul might make an excellent captain. In addition to serving as the Indian Test team's official vice-captain, KL Rahul commanded the nation in three Test matches. But Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two Test matches during the Australia trip, took his place.
"KL Rahul is a decent opening alternative but the captaincy provides a bigger headache whenever Jasprit Bumrah is unavailable. Bumrah showed in Australia he's an outstanding bowler and a decent skipper, but he needs support in both categories if India are to remain a force," Chappell concluded.