Virat Kohli. What have you been doing all this while? Are you even watching Indian cricket at all? All this while, so many individual performances and not a single reaction? How is that possible? Rishabh Pant scored twin hundreds, Yashasvi Jaiswal carried on his resplendent run. The mercurial Jasprit Bumrah lit the Leeds Test ablaze with yet another five-wicket return, and who can possibly forget, Shubman Gill rewrote the history books and records in Edgbaston.
Kohli Resurfaces with a Heartwarming Tribute
All these queries are now a thing of the past. The ‘King’ of Indian cricket, who broke many hearts with his announcement of retirement from Test cricket has resurfaced on social media, with a post that will truly melt hearts. Kohli, who post IPL trophy win with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been miserably off the radar. Except for a couple of videos of him roaming the London streets, there was nothing about him. Yes, he did welcome some of the Indian cricket team members to his home but was out of public sight.
Historic Knock of Shubman Gill Moves Kohli
It took Shubman Gill and some unheard-of batting for even Kohli to open his mouth. He is in stunned awe of Gill’s performance in the current Edgbaston Test against England. India’s captain, who made 430 runs in aggregate during the second Test of the five-match series in order to propel the visitors to a strong position against England, continued from where he had stopped in the first innings. He had scored 269 runs, which were a record number of runs by an Indian batsman in the UK, and in the second innings, added on to it scoring another 161 runs off 162 deliveries to assist India in setting England a target of 608.
Kohli’s ‘Star Boy’ Praise for Shubman Gill
Kohli shared a picture of Gill on Instagram stories, dubbing the India Test captain “star boy”. “Well played, star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this,” Kohli wrote.
Entering the series against England, the spotlight was squarely on Gill. He had no centuries in SENA nations, and to top that, Gill had the responsibility of taking the side through transition in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin after their Test retirements. To add more pressure, Gill had the responsibility of batting at a spot which Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar made eternal. Batting at No.4 was massive.
Redemption After Headingley and Dominance at Edgbaston
But Gill made his intentions known from the first match of the series, hitting 147 runs in the first innings of the Headingley Test. But the century was a waste as India lost after England overhauled over 370 runs.
Gill played a loose shot in the first innings of the Headingley Test but learned his lesson as he went long in the Edgbaston match, scoring 269 runs during the first innings and supporting India to reach 587.
The right-handed batsman then prevented India from wasting the benefit of having the lead of 180 runs by scoring 161 runs in the second innings. Due to this endeavor, he now holds the second highest number of runs scored in a single Test, and that is next only to Graham Gooch.
Kohli’s Test Retirement and Career Recap
Virat Kohli had announced his retirement from Tests earlier this year. His statement came days before the England series squad reveal. He put up a long message on Instagram, officially announcing it.
During the England tour squad announcement, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar announced that Kohli had called him in April 2025 to let him know of his plans to leave the longest format.
Kohli has played 123 Tests, aggregating 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.
India’s Declaration and First Innings Advantage
Now, returning to the Edgbaston Test, India declared their second innings at 427/6, giving England a target of 608. KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant too recorded half-centuries for the visitors.
India achieved a lead of 180 runs in the first innings after Mohammed Siraj’s six-wicket bag reduced England to 407.