Hyderabad:

Kohli played for Delhi against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in February, a few weeks after having poor outings in the Test series against Australia. However, the decision for the former Indian captain to retire from Test cricket left many surprised. Earlier, there were media reports that Kohli had informed BCCI that he wants to retire but the board had asked him to reconsider his decision.

Sarandeep revealed while speaking to PTI that Kohli was preparing for the England series.

 Former India spinner and Delhi’s Ranji Trophy coach, Sarandeep Singh, has stated that he was surprised at Virat Kohli’s decision to retire from Test cricket. Sarandeep revealed the details of the last conversation he had with the former India skipper during his last red-ball fixture in New Delhi in February. Sarandeep claimed that Kohli had told him that he was preparing for the five-match Test series against England and was also ready to feature in the practice games with India A in June.

"Not at all, there was no sign of him retiring from any form of cricket because he is coming to play red-ball cricket, so he had no thinking like that. Even at that time, he was talking about the England series with the test matches that are coming. So, he is going to play there. And this time, he will be very much prepared, he said. He is going to score maximum hundreds, which he did the last time in 2018 when he went to England. He scored a lot of runs over there,” he stated.

“So, he will be well prepared for the England tour too. So, there is nothing like that when it came to Ranji Trophy matches. In the coming time, he was looking forward to it. So, I don't know. Still, we thought that we would see him on the England tour. He is one of the most senior players. The England tour is especially tough. So, without him, I don't know how the Indian team will manage now."

With Rohit and Kohli both stepping away from Test cricket, India will be playing with their two experienced batters in the Test series against England starting from June 20 to August 4. According to multiple media reports, Shubman Gill will captain the Indian team in the series while Rishabh Pant will be his deputy.

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