'Would've straight away made him captain after Australia tour' - Ravi Shastri on Virat Kohli's Test retirement

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has stated that he would have appointed Virat Kohli as the Indian Test captain straightaway after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25. Kohli announced his retirement from red-ball cricket in May 2025, shortly after Rohit Sharma's Test retirement, leading to discussions about leadership within the Indian Test setup. Notably, India are set to face England in a crucial five-match Test series starting June 20 at Headingley, with Shubman Gill set to takeover the cpataincy duties.

"I feel sad that he has gone, the way he has gone. Sadly, I think it [retirement] could have been handled better, there should have been more communication. If I had anything to do with it, I would have made him the captain straight away after Australia,” said Shastri.

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Shastri is regarded as one of the most influential coaches in Indian cricket, having formed a formidable partnership with Kohli. The duo first worked together between 2014 and 2016, and again from 2017 to 2021, during which time Indian cricket reached several milestones. Under their leadership, India reached the 2019 ICC World Cup semifinal and scripted historic Test series wins in Australia, once in 2018/19, and again in 2020-21.

Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011 at Kingston, Jamaica. Over the years, he grew to become the backbone of the Indian batting unit. One of the highlights of his career came in 2019 during the Pune Test against South Africa, where he registered his highest Test score of 254*.

 But, in the last five years of his Test career, Kohli's form dipped considerably. He averaged only 30.72 during the said period, managing just three centuries and nine half-centuries. Overall, he played 123 Tests (210 innings) and finished merely 770 runs short of the 10,000-run milestone in the format. He had already bid farewell to T20Is last year. Kohli's sole focus now remains on representing India in the 50-over format.