India vs England 2025 1st Test: It's a 'shame' not to play against Virat Kohli, says captain Ben Stokes
Virat Kohli (left) and Ben Stokes. (Source: X)
It seems that India vs England five-match series has lost a lot of it's sheen over the last month. The sudden Test retirements of Rohit Sharma followed by that of Virat Kohli has definitely taken away a lot of star power from the series which begins the new WTC 2025-27 cycle for Team India.
Indians will be led by a new skipper in Shubman Gill and his English counterpart Ben Stokes believes it's a 'shame' that Kohli will be missing from this crucial series. Kohli announced his Test retirement last month, few days after his longtime India teammate and Test skipper Rohit Sharma too decided to call it a day, leaving the BCCI no option but to send a team in transition to the UK under the captaincy of Gill.
In a video released by England Cricket, Stokes reflected on what India will miss following Kohli's retirement. 'What India will miss will be his fighting spirit out in the game, his competitiveness, and his desire to win,' Stokes said.
Ben Stokes 🤝 Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/vz1GEIDZ3j
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) June 18, 2025
'He has made number 18 his, hasn't he? It'll be a bit weird not seeing number 18 on the back of anyone of any Indian shirt, but he has been class for them for a long period of time.'
Kohli bid adieu from Test cricket with a phenomenal record, just shy of scoring 10,000 runs – becoming only the 4th Indian batter ever to achieve this feat after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. The former India captain tallied 9230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
Stokes, who has also expressed his preference for the five-day game, said he texted Kohli after the latter announced his retirement.
'I did text him, saying it's going to be a shame not to play against him because I love playing against Virat. We both love playing against each other because we have that same mindset when we are out in the field — that it's a battle,' Stokes said.
Kohli was also India's most-successful Test skipper with 40 wins in 68 Test matches. He was instrumental in Team India drawing the last five-match series against England 2-2.
The first Test between India and England will get underway at Headingley, Leeds on Friday.
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