3 reasons why Virat Kohli retiring from Tests ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 series would be the wrong move

Team India ace batter Virat Kohli has expressed a desire to retire from Test cricket ahead of the England tour and the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The former skipper was under pressure in the longest format following a lack of runs for a while, which included a disastrous 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT.

With his heart set on retirement, that particular campaign in Australia could well set to be the final nail in the coffin. Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested Kohli to reconsider the decision, in all honesty, the fact that he even contemplated retirement is a very discouraging sign.

“He has made up his mind and has informed the board that he is moving on from Test cricket. The BCCI has urged him to rethink as the crucial England tour is coming up. He is yet to revert on the request,” a source told the Indian Express.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why Virat Kohli retiring from Tests ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 series would be the wrong move.

#1 Kohli still has a lot left in the tank

Usually, when a player contemplated retirement, it is because age and injuries have caught up, or the bat is just not talking anymore. In Kohli's case, it is neither, despite what his recent red-ball numbers may seem to suggest. Sure, he has been far from his best in the format for a while now, but the way he has gone about it in white-ball cricket is an encouraging sign.

It is almost a cardinal sin in cricket to extrapolate white-ball form and performances into the longest format, particularly to justify selections. However, it does have a degree of merit, because, at the end of the day, the fundamentals are the same.

Kohli has adapted well between white-ball formats, something which is seamlessly on display in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, coming right after a successful 2025 Champions Trophy campaign.

But the same sort of transition is missing in red-ball cricket. There is no doubt that Kohli still has the game to succeed in Tests, but he has not been able to adapt to it after playing limited-overs cricket.

Somewhere along the line, the ability to transition between formats, and the technical challenges to cope with Test cricket have faded, but it is nothing that cannot be revived, particularly since he is nearly doing all of the things right in the shorter formats.

As a result, there is a lot left in the tank when it comes to the physical and skill aspect. But, the biggest question remains the mental aspect of things, the hunger and the drive side of things.

#2 Kohli's retirement will shove India into transition in a not-so-smooth manner

Team India are no strangers to rushed and imperfect transitions. Having to replace absolute legends with undercooked players have pushed India to peril in the past, and with the upcoming transition being crucial in so many ways, it cannot be bungled in any way, shape, or form.

Cricket has taught us that an ideal transition is a myth, but that does not mean an attempt cannot be made for it to be as smooth as possible. Team India has dealt with two unexpected retirements already in Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin in just the span of a couple of matches, if it is angled that way.

Heading into the next WTC 2025-27 cycle with Virat Kohli on that list of retirees, that too ahead of a challenging tour, with a brand new captain and some new faces in the side, would be a suicide mission. The majority of the squad, especially the batters, would be either on their maiden tour of England or have no history of success in the country.

It is essential that Kohli remains the backbone of the batting line-up, given his experience and success playing in such conditions. It would be too much of an ask for the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rishabh Pant (taking his woeful form into account, and not his lack of experience) to tackle a volatile, yet menacing England side, that too in their backyard.

#3 Team India do not even have a tentative contingency plan to replace Virat Kohli in the playing XI

Kohli retiring would have been one of the last prospects on the team management's mind, which is why it is not their fault that a plan for his heir is not in place yet. Assuming that the ace batter retires, and is not part of the team for the next cycle, how do Team India even go about it? Plans are plenty, but none are promising.

An option would be to slot Shubman Gill at No.4, and take a punt on a new No.3 batter, whether it be Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, or someone else. Despite some potential there, it does not even come close to the comfort of having Virat Kohli in the batting order.

Keeping Gill at No.3, and exploring the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, or Dhruv Jurel also means that Team India end up hitting the same roadblock.

Team India had a glimpse of what it would be like without Virat Kohli in the Test batting order, when he was not part of the home series against England in 2024. Although the Men in Blue won the series 4-1, but strictly from a No.4 point of view, it was a poor series.

India had to deal with injury issues, and poor scores throughout as they tested out KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, and Devdutt Padikkal at No.4 in the span of a month.