The legacy Virat Kohli left behind in Whites will be a talking point in the future also. India, now preparing their squad for the upcoming Test series against England, is set to travel with Virat Kohli. Team India without Virat— England skipper Ben Stokes can't believe this is going to happen so early.

Stokes revealed his emotions about Virat Kohli without any hesitation, which proved the greatness of the former Indian captain beyond any kind of boundaries. Virat retired just after Rohit Sharma announced his departure from the longest format of the game, which left BCCI with a very limited number of senior players for the England tour, which is set to begin on June 20 and will conclude officially on August 4.

Ben Stokes, during an online conversation, said about the Delhi-born batter, "I texted him on his retirement & said, Such a shame that you won't be here (for the five-match Test series)."

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Stokes was eager to see Virat Kohli in the upcoming England vs India 5-match Test series 

Without the service of Sharma and Kohli, Team India will start a fresh World Test Championship (WTC) circle with a new skipper. On the other hand, England can structure their lineup with multiple new faces, as some of their key players are still recovering from injury. 

Ben Stokes on Virat Kohli's Test Retirement: [ECB Website/Bharat Sharma]

"I texted him on his retirement & said such a shame that you won't be here (for five Tests)". pic.twitter.com/iWIrC4zPet

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 21, 2025

Ben Stokes himself will return to international competition after a long spell of injury. Before the five-Test match series against India, the Three Lions will face Zimbabwe in a one-off Test, where Stokes' performance will be under the scanner. 

India A squad for preparations in English conditions: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (Vice-Captain & WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey