England skipper Ben Stokes has praised Virat Kohli’s passion and fighting spirit acknowledging that India will definitely miss in the upcoming five-match Test series against England. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from Test format and now the responsibility is on the youngsters to carry the Indian Team forward with Shubman Gill leading the charge.

“I think what India will miss will be his fighting spirit out in the game, his competitiveness, and his desire to win. He has made number 18 his, hasn’t he? It’ll be a bit weird not seeing number 18 on the back of anyone of any Indian shirt, but he has been class for them for a long period of time.”

“I did text him, saying it’s going to be a shame not to play against him because I love playing against Virat. We both love playing against each other because we have that same mindset when we are out in the field—that it’s a battle,” he said.

Virat Kohli’s Test career came to an end and he is India’s fourth-highest run-scorer with 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will now be seen playing only in the ODI format, they have the aim of playing the 2027 ODI World Cup.