'Khelne ko toh main bhi khel sakta hoon' - Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli's premature Test retirement

Virat Kohli shocked the cricket fraternity with his Test retirement on May 12, and stepped away from the format he loved playing the most. His retirement came shortly after two legendary servants of Indian cricket - Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma, too, hung up their boots. This left the Indian team to look for options and find replacements for the troika that has now departed from the red-ball format.

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh was recently asked his opinion on the choice of Kohli to call it quits in the purest format of the game. Harbhajan clarified that retirements are always a personal call, and his opinion on Kohli's decision should not be bothered about. He later added that Kohli still has the stamina to play the five-day format, and even he himself can play competitive cricket even today, but when a player wants to retire is his personal call.

“Yeh toh unka personal decision hain, isme main kya keh sakta hoon? Dum-kham toh bande mein bahut hai. Wo lambe samay tak khel sakte hain. Khelne ko toh main bhi khel sakta hoon ("It's his personal decision. What can I say? I think Kohli can still play for a longer period of time. I can also play)," the cricketer-turned-commentator was quoted as saying by Southlive.

Selectors speed-dial Karun Nair for Kohli

While the retirement of the 36-year-old has left a huge void in the Indian batting unit, the selectors have called for the comeback of Karun Nair for the upcoming five-match series against England, as they feel he is experienced enough. The chief selector Ajit Agarkar also told that Nair's experience of playing county cricket in English conditions will be helpful and might just do the job of filling the gap left by Kohli's departure.

The series will commence on June 20 with the first Test set to be played at the Headingley, Leeds. The think tank has shown massive faith in the 25-year-old Shubman Gill by appointing him as the new captain, while Rishabh Pant will act as his deputy. The series will also mark the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for the Indian team, and they will be hoping to make it through with a relatively younger and inexperienced but highly-skilled unit.