"Don't know if Virat Kohli will be coming to the game" - Dinesh Karthik's interesting claim on star batter during ENG vs IND 3rd Test 2025

Former Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik pondered if ace batter Virat Kohli might turn up at the stands to watch the third Test of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Lord's. Karthik's remarks came during Day 1 of the Lord's Test after legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar was in attendance and rang the famous bell before the start of play.

It is a well-known fact that Kohli has a residence in London and was part of the recent charity event for cancer hosted by former teammate Yuvraj Singh. The 36-year-old also attended the 2025 Wimbledon on Monday (July 8) with his wife Anushka Sharma.

Talking about the possibility of Kohli attending one of the days of the Lord's Test, Karthik said during on-air commentary for Sky Sports (via TOI):

"Don't know if Virat Kohli will be coming to the game. Two young kids. Daddy duties. Sachin Tendulkar is here. His wife Anjali. They live around the corner here as well."

Kohli and Karthik recently combined to help the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) with their maiden IPL title. The former was the side's leading run-scorer in the tournament with 657 runs, while the latter served as the batting coach and mentor.

Virat Kohli retired from Tests before ongoing England tour

Virat Kohli walked away from Test cricket a month before the start of the 2025 England tour, a week after Rohit Sharma did the same. The champion batter finished his Test career with 9,230 runs at an average of almost 47, including 30 centuries, in 123 games.

Despite being just short of the historic 10,000-run mark, Kohli's form had faded in the 2024/25 season, where he averaged only 22.47 in 10 matches. The veteran cricketer was part of India's last three Test tours of England, including leading the side for all but one game in 2018 and 2021/22.

Meanwhile, the third Test of the ongoing series got underway at Lord's, with the first session evenly matched. After England won the toss and elected to bat first, openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett took the side to 43/0.

However, India found a surprising hero in Nitish Kumar Reddy, who removed both openers in quick succession. Ollie Pope and Joe Root bailed the hosts out of trouble from 44/2, taking them to 83/2 in 25 overs at Lunch on Day 1.