"Mujhe waha 3-4 sau lagane hai" - Delhi coach reveals Virat Kohli's mindset for England Test tour before retirement decision

Delhi's Ranji Trophy coach Sarandeep Singh has revealed Virat Kohli's mindset for the England Test tour before he decided to retire from the longest format. Kohli announced his decision to retire from Test cricket on Monday, May 12.

India are set to tour England for a five-match Test series in June. While Virat Kohli was expected to play the series, his decision has come as a shocker for many, including Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh.

Talking on JioHotstar, the coach revealed how Kohli wanted to play the England series and score hundreds there, and he has been left perplexed by the retirement decision.

"Mujhe India A ke liye matches khelne hai. Do match hai India A ke liye khelunga phir Test match ki tayari karunga. Woh Ranji Trophy mai wahi baat kar rahe the ki mujhe waha 3-4 sau England mai lagane hai (I want to play India A matches. I will play two India A games then prepare for the Test match. In Ranji Trophy he was talking about wanting to score 3-4 centuries in England)," the Delhi coach opened up on the conversation he had with Kohli when the star batter had featured in a Ranji Trophy game earlier this year.

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Virat Kohli's disappointing performance on Australia tour

With the retirement decision now coming in, Virat Kohli's last Test tour turned out to be the one to Australia for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India lost 3-1. Kohli scored a hundred in the second innings of the first Test in Perth but failed to carry the form throughout the series.

Eventually, he managed to score just 190 runs from five Tests and nine innings. While Kohli was eyeing a redemption in England, as claimed by the Delhi coach, the Australia tour now remains his final one.

Virat Kohli played 123 Tests in his career overall. He scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 with 30 hundreds and 31 half-centuries.