Team India without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will travel to England for a 5-match Test series. When Ajit Agarkar, chief of the selection committee, faced reporters during the squad announcement press conference, questions were naturally there about Rohit and Virat's retirement for Tests, just ahead of the crucial series, and both of them shared their official decision unceremoniously and suddenly, which led the cricket fans only to amuse.

Agarkar finally broke his silence about the retirement of two legends. He personally shared information about Kohli, which was not disclosed before.

The head of the selection committee, BCCI said in the press conference, "When guys like that retire, there are always big holes to fill. (Ravichandran) Ashwin also retired. Those three have been stalwarts. Always difficult. One way of looking at it is an opportunity for someone else. Had conversations with both of them."

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Virat already made his mind about retirement

Agarkar said that Virat informed them early about his decision to leave the format, and he had already made up his mind about retiring from Tests. "Virat reached out to us early in April and said he had made up his mind to retire from Test cricket." 

In his long, emotional retirement note, Virat Kohli said through his Instagram post on May 12, 2025, "It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life. There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever"

Indian squad for England series:

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.