Even though Virat Kohli just announced his retirement from Test cricket, he still seems to be in the loop with the Indian team. Reports say that he invited Shubman Gill, the new Test captain, along with vice-captain Rishabh Pant, bowler Mohammed Siraj, and a few others to his house in London. They got together a few days before India’s Test series against England starts on June 20, just to chill out.
This series will be Gill’s first as the captain of the Test team, taking over from Rohit Sharma. Both Rohit and Kohli made their retirement announcements not long ago during IPL 2025.
On the other hand, England’s legendary bowler James Anderson talked about how he faced off against Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli during his long career. He said bowling to Kohli felt tougher. Anderson, who started his Test career in 2003 and just retired last season, had some success against both players, dismissing Tendulkar nine times and Kohli seven.
He recalled having luck against Kohli in their first series in England in 2014, exploiting a weakness, but by their next meeting in 2018, Kohli had clearly improved and felt like a whole new challenge.
Anderson pointed out that Kohli really raised his game, making it hard for bowlers. He got Kohli out four or five times in the first series but couldn’t manage it in the next one. He mentioned that while he didn’t notice a big change when facing Tendulkar, Kohli consistently presented a tougher challenge. He described Kohli as competitive and eager for a battle, which made things more interesting. In contrast, he saw Tendulkar as a ‘god-like’ figure.
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