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The India National Cricket Team will be up against the England National Cricket Team in a three-match ODI series after the 5-match T20I series ends. Virat Kohli is part of the ODI squad after passing the fitness test following a hamstring injury sustained in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final, which kept him out of the Afghanistan series.
Virat Kohli is fully fit and will look to dominate the upcoming series. He has been in sensational form recently. In the last two series he played against South Africa and New Zealand, respectively, he finished as the leading run scorer for the side, scoring a combined total of 542 runs across the bilateral ODI series.
Virat Kohli to continue his form in ODI cricket
He amassed 302 runs at an average of 151.00 in the series against South Africa, and scored 240 runs at an average of 80.00 against New Zealand. The 37-year-old scored 3 combined centuries across the South Africa and New Zealand bilateral ODI series.
This will be a big series as Virat Kohli comes after a long hiatus from the 50-over format. Virat Kohli currently plays only in one format as he has retired from Test and T20I cricket a long time ago. Ahead of the series, former India World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has shared his views on Virat retiring from Test cricket.
Kapil Dev opens up on Virat Kohli leaving Test cricket
While speaking on the SportsTak podcast, Kapil Dev was asked whether he suddenly retired from Test cricket, although, to be fair, Virat's graph in Test cricket had started declining. At that point, he had around 9,230 Test runs and could have finished with 10,000 runs. Kapil Dev stated that it is not about the runs; he left the game in frustration.
"It's not about 10,000 runs or anything like that. I just felt that if he had controlled his emotions for another six months and not walked away in anger, he might have had another opportunity to play for India. If you leave the game in frustration, you may never get another chance to represent India. After that, all you can do is talk about it."
"When you're still playing, don't make decisions out of anger or react impulsively. He had earlier stepped down from the Test captaincy as well. I think that was his own thought process, and he had every right to make that decision."
"He still has what it takes to play Test cricket"- Kapil Dev on whether Virat Kohli had something to offer to Test cricket
Kapil Dev believes that he still had time and could have had more patience, while providing some more time to himself. He could have returned to domestic cricket if the selectors and captain did not back you and picked you and scored runs there and come back after performing in the domestic format, as he had some more Test cricket left in him.
"But from the outside, it feels like he still had time. If the selectors didn't pick you, that's okay. Give yourself some time. If the captain didn't back you, that's okay too. Work harder and score more runs."
"Players like Mohinder Amarnath and Anshuman Gaekwad returned by piling up runs in domestic cricket. Whether it's the IPL or domestic tournaments, keep performing and you'll come back because the ability is still there."
"He still has what it takes to play Test cricket. That's why it felt disappointing that he made the decision a little earlier than expected."
