'He reached out early': Agarkar on Virat Kohli's Test retirement
What's the story
Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, stated that Virat Kohli's decision to retire from Test cricket was communicated by Kohli himself in early April.
Agarkar revealed this during a press conference where he announced India's squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting June 20.
Notably, Kohli 36, sent the cricket world in shock by announcing his exit from the longest format earlier in May.
Early communication
Kohli's retirement decision was communicated in April
Agarkar confirmed that Kohli had decided to retire from Test cricket in early April.
"Virat reached out early April & said he had made up his mind (to retire from Test cricket)," Agarkar said.
"Felt he'd given everything he had, if he can't keep up to the standards it was time for him. It's come from him."
Kohli's announcement came soon after India captain Rohit Sharma also announced his retirement, marking a major change in the team's lineup."
Team changes
New leadership and fresh faces in India's Test squad
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been named India's new Test captain with Rishabh Pant as his deputy.
The move was expected after Rohit and Kohli's retirements.
The selection committee also picked B Sai Sudharsan in the squad for the first time, while Karun Nair returns after a seven-year gap.
Arshdeep Singh has also received a maiden Test call-up.
Player absences
Mohammed Shami's exclusion and team's future prospects
Pacer Mohammed Shami was left out of the squad owing to fitness issues.
Agarkar said, "His workload is not where it needs to be. We were hoping he will be available but it is unfortunate. At the moment he is not duly fit."
Meanwhile, Agarkar was confident of Gill's leadership skills, saying: 'We are hopeful he is the guy who is going (to take the team forward). It is a high pressure job but he is a terrific player.'"
Transition phase
Agarkar addresses team's new phase
Agarkar admitted that replacing legends like Kohli, Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin from the Indian Test side won't be easy.
He termed this phase a major transition for the side.
"When guys like that retire, always big holes to fill... One way of looking at it is, opportunity for someone else," he said.
Meanwhile, the England series will be India's maiden Test assignment after Kohli and Rohit's Test retirements.
Information
India squad for England tour
Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wk & VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.