Virat Kohli has communicated his desire to retire from Test cricket to the BCCI ahead of the big five-match series in England starting June 20, for which he is expected to be a part of the squad. ESPNcricinfo understands that Kohli has been having these conversations with officials of the BCCI for the past month or so.

If Kohli doesn’t change his mind, he will bring the curtain down on a glorious career that has spanned 14 years and included 123 Tests – 68 of them as captain – in which he has 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.

But it hasn’t been a particularly fruitful time in the format for Kohli of late. When he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test in November 2024, it was his first century in Tests since July 2023 (against West Indies in Port of Spain), and his average, 55.10 at its peak after he scored his career best of 254 not out vs South Africa in Pune in 2019, has been 32.56 over the last 24 months.
Despite that, it’s understood that the team management and selectors expect his experience to be crucial on the tour, where India will also be playing under a new captain – Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to take over from Rohit Sharma following his retirement from Test cricket earlier this week.

Kohli, as well as Rohit, were included in the highest category (A+) in the latest BCCI contracts, which is usually meant for players who play all three international formats. Both Kohli and Rohit had retired from T20Is after India won the World Cup last year and, if Kohli does retire from Tests, they will only be available for ODI cricket going forward.

Apart from Rohit, India are without R Ashwin, who retired from international cricket during the 2024-25 series in Australia. With Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane not in the mix at the moment, and Mohammed Shami’s form under scrutiny after his return from a long injury layoff, Kohli is among the only seniors around, along with KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah.

Before Rohit replaced Kohli as India’s Test captain, India had won 40 of the 68 games in which Kohli led, losing just 17. The 40 wins makes Kohli India’s most successful Test captain of all time – MS Dhoni with 27 from 60 and Sourav Ganguly with 21 from 49 rank below him – and also places him at No. 4 on the overall list of captains with the most Test wins, behind Graeme Smith (53 from 109), Ricky Ponting (48 from 77) and Steve Waugh (41 from 57).

It was in England that Kohli had recorded one of his greatest highs as a Test batter, on the 2018 tour. He was the top run-getter across the two sides in the five Tests, aggregating 583 at an average of 59.30 with two centuries. That it came after he had scored just 134 runs in ten innings on the previous tour, in 2014, made the performance that much more special. That year, 2018, was also his best in terms of aggregate for a year, when he scored 1322 runs.

During his golden run, he averaged 75.93 in 2016, 75.64 in 2017, 55.08 in 2018, and 68.00 in 2019. During that period between 2016 and 2018, Kohli scored 3596 runs in 35 Tests at an average of 66.59, with 14 hundreds and eight fifties in 58 innings.

(espncricinfo.com)

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the postponement of the remaining eight matches of the HBL PSL X.

A statement from Pakistan Cricket Board says : 

The last 24 hours have seen a worsening of the situation on the LOC, increased incursion of 78 drones, and the firing of surface to surface missiles from India.

The decision to postpone has been taken pursuant to advice received from the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif who has kept in view the reckless aggression from India that has escalated to a point where national attention and sentiments are rightly focused on the courageous efforts of the Armed Forces of Pakistan who are vociferously upholding the sovereignty of our beloved Pakistan.

The PCB and its players stand resolutely in solidarity with the families of the martyrs and our security personnel defending the nation.

The PCB recognizes the efforts and support of its partners, franchises, participating players, broadcasters, sponsors, and organizers in having ensured the smooth conduct of the tournament thus far, however; cricket while being a unifying force and a source of joy, must take a respectful pause when the country is facing such callous opposition.

We, at the PCB, also have sincere regard for the mental well-being of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign players, and we respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home.

Yesterday, it was also announced that the IPL will also be suspended for a week.

Related News :

IPL suspended for a week over safety concerns

The Indian Premier League has been suspended for one week amid the ongoing tensions between India and neighbouring Pakistan.

Overnight, India accused Pakistan of attacking three of its military bases with drones and missiles, a claim which Islamabad denied.

Pakistani authorities say 31 people have been killed and 57 injured by Indian air strikes in the country and Pakistan-administered Kashmir since Wednesday morning.

Twenty-six civilians were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir last month and India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants behind the attack – an allegation the neighbouring country has rejected.

The situation escalated on Tuesday evening when India launched a series of strikes in a move named “Operation Sindoor”.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said: “The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council after due consultation with all key stakeholders following the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans.

“While the BCCI reposes full faith in the strength and preparedness of our armed forces, the Board considered it prudent to act in the collective interest of all stakeholders.”

On Thursday, the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala was abandoned mid-match because of floodlight failure, with players, staff and media set to be evacuated from the city, which lies close to the contested region of Kashmir.

Later on the same day, the remaining matches in the Pakistan Super League were moved to the United Arab Emirates.

The IPL, the richest franchise T20 league in the world, had been set to run until 23 May, with 16 games left to be played.

“Further updates regarding the new schedule and venues of the tournament will be announced in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders,” said the BCCI.

There are 10 England players – past and present – involved in this year’s tournament. They include former white-ball captain Jos Buttler, fast bowler Jofra Archer and all-rounder Jacob Bethell.

IPL matches have been staged outside India before, with the 2009 edition held in South Africa following an attack on the Sri Lankan national side in Lahore in Pakistan, while the 2020 and second half of the 2021 seasons were staged in the United Arab Emirates during the Covid-19 pandemic.

(BBC News)