Dilip Vengsarkar says Virat Kohli should have retired after England tour

Former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar reckons Virat Kohli should have continued playing and he should have retired after the England tour, where India is all set to play five Test matches. Kohli called it a day on Monday as he announced his retirement on Instagram.

The veteran batter scored only 190 runs in five Test matches on the Australian tour at an average of 23.75 and thus doubts over his Test future were raised by many experts.

Kohli amassed 9230 runs in 123 Test matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries.

Dilip Vengsarkar told Indian Express, “I’m surprised with the decision of Virat Kohli to retire especially because the big England tour is coming up in June. I think he (Virat) should have played against England. It’s a five-match Test series in their backyard, a big series. He could have played the entire series and then called it a day. But he decided not to – and it’s his call.”

He added, “He had a great, outstanding innings. He evolved as a player after each series and each year, a true match-winner.”

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma also announced his Test retirement on May 7 and Vengsarkar said the Indian team will have their work cut out in filling the void left by these two veteran batters.

The former Indian selector said, “Rohit Sharma and Virat will leave a big void. I’m sure there are players in the team who would like to grab the opportunity in the England tour now because I believe there is quality in the squad. The flip side of the retirements by these two players is that others will get the opportunity to establish themselves. The contribution of Virat and Rohit towards Indian cricket is huge and will remembered for a long time.”

Rohit played 67 Tests during an 11-year career, leading in 24 of them since taking over the reins of the team from Virat Kohli in 2022. He ends his career with a total of 4301 runs, including 12 centuries.

Both Kohli and Rohit will be seen in action in IPL 2025, which will resume on May 17.