'He shouldn't have...': Sachin Tendulkar makes BIG statement on Virat Kohli's Test retirement

India will not have the availability of their key player, Virat Kohli, for the crucial tour of England. The former captain of India stepped away from red-ball cricket prior to the team's selection for the series. Virat participated in a Ranji Trophy match following the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and appeared ready for the England tour. However, he surprised the cricketing community with his retirement announcement.

Before the commencement of the England tour, Sachin Tendulkar shared his thoughts on Virat's Test retirement. In an interview with BBC Sports, the Master Blaster stated, "It's a personal decision. So you know it is easy for an outsider to just pass a loose comment and say, then OK, he shouldn't have done whatever that maybe. But An individual understands the state of mind, how the body is responding to the longer format of the game. And it's a personal decision, so it wouldn't be right for me to, you know, make any comment on that."

Virat retired from T20I cricket following his victory in the 2024 World Cup and is currently participating solely in ODI cricket. A week prior to Virat's retirement, Rohit Sharma also stepped away from Test cricket. Rohit served as the captain of India during the tour of Australia. He chose to exclude himself from the fifth Test but assured that he would remain available for Test matches. Rohit will keep leading the ODI team until the 2027 World Cup.

Tendulkar stated that every player puts in significant effort to prepare for such challenges. The cricketing icon is confident that the India team, led by Shubman Gill, possesses the 'firepower' necessary to face the challenge in England.

“But that is what all the players work hard for -- to prepare themselves for those difficult moments. I think the team has the firepower to counter whatever the England team is going to do. We have the experience also of players like KL Rahul, (Ravindra) Jadeja, (Jasprit) Bumrah... Rishabh (Pant) is experienced now, Shubman is experienced now. We have got these guys. We have Karun (Nair), who has been around. At the international level, he has tasted success and also played a lot of first-class cricket, county cricket here. Yashasvi (Jaiswal). All these guys are there. Sai Sudharsan has looked good. I feel we are very much there. It will be a close encounter," he added.

The five-match Test series against England will mark the beginning of a new era in Test cricket for India under the leadership of Shubman Gill. This Test series will be India's first red-ball challenge following the consecutive retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli from the longest format of the sport.

Also read| IND vs ENG: Why are India-England players wearing black armbands on Day 1 in Leeds Test?