Virat Kohli: Conflicting reports emerge about batter wanting Indian Test captaincy

Two major news items related to Virat Kohli broke on Saturday morning, raising questions marks over his availability for the Indian Test team in the future. The ESPNCricinfo and the Indian Express have reported that the former Indian Test captain has already informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he is ready to move on from Test cricket .

Reportedly, the 36-year-old Kohli has held discussions with the BCCI for the past month and so about retiring from Test cricket, but he has been asked to reconsider his decision as India are getting ready for the five-match Test series in England from 20 June.

The news of Kohli’s possible retirement from Test cricket comes at a time, Rohit has also retired from the five-day format and will leave India low on experience in the England Tests.

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The other major report came from the Times of India, which has claimed that Kohli had in the past expressed a desire to captain India once again in Tests, but that request was junked by the BCCI. The Indian cricket board wants to pick a young captain and groom the team for the future.

“A new WTC cycle is starting. Future and continuity has to be kept in mind as far as the team is concerned. Even coach Gautam Gambhir would want a set of players he is likely to work with for an extended period. There can’t be any stop-gap solutions for such an important series. The last two Test series haven’t been ideal for the team and the England series is very crucial,” a source told TOI.

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There are reports that Shubman Gill could be the new India Test team captain.

Kohli wanted Indian Test captaincy back?

Did Kohli demand Test captaincy and was it rejected? All of this at the moment is conjecture at the moment. In February, a report in Cricblogger said that Kohli was offered Test captaincy by head coach Gautam Gambhir, but he rejected the offer as he did when he was asked to captain the Delhi Ranji team earlier this year or the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

As per the report, Kohli doesn’t want to captain any side anymore.

The same report stated that Gambhir later forwarded Jasprit Bumrah’s name for Test captaincy with Yashasvi Jaiswal as his deputy.

Kohli is India’s most successful captain. Under his leadership, India won 40 of 68 Tests. Kohli boasts the best winning percentage of 58.82% among Indian captains.

Whether Kohli was offered Indian Test captaincy or he wanted it may not become clear anytime soon, but the next Indian Test captain will be revealed soon as BCCI selectors are expected to name the squad in the coming days.