Michael Vaughan brutally mocks Virat Kohli: 'You don’t miss someone who averages 33'

Former England captain Michael Vaughan made a brutal statement on Team India batter Virat Kohli ahead of the five-match Test series. Vaughan stated that India won’t miss Virat Kohli's batting during the upcoming Test series in England, considering his disappointing performances in Test cricket in the UK.

Virat Kohli ended his Test career just before the start of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. He finished his career with over 9,000 runs in 123 matches. There were expectations that Kohli would still play a key role in the England tour, despite struggling in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series.

Virat Kohli Is a Legend and a Culture Creator - Michael Vaughan

India are going through a major transition phase, especially after the retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma. However, Kohli also decided to step away from Test cricket, leaving the team to field an inexperienced squad for the challenging tour of England.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Michael Vaughan said that India will feel the absence of Kohli’s on-field aggression. Speaking to Fox Cricket, Vaughan pointed out that Kohli's Test average is 33 in England. Vaughan also said that the new Indian players could rise to the occasion and perform well.

"Kohli is a legend and a culture creator around this Indian team, and what he brought as a captain to the team is still there in terms of the energy and the drive and the aggression. But he only averaged 33 here in the UK. You don’t massively miss someone that averages 33, but you miss someone that brings so much to the dressing room," Vaughan told Fox Cricket.

“These players that are going to come in and play for India, they’re seriously good players. Maybe this new generation has been waiting. Maybe they’ve been waiting for this moment. Don’t be surprised that they play really well," he added.

India Will Miss Virat Kohli's Fighting Spirit on the Field - Ben Stokes

England captain Ben Stokes said that India will feel the absence of Virat Kohli's fighting spirit following his Test retirement. Stokes said that it would be strange not to see the iconic No. 18 jersey on the field, calling him “class for a long period of time.”

“I think what India will miss will be his fighting spirit out in the game, his competitiveness, 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," Ben Stokes had said (via Indian Express).

Virat Kohli's Performance in England in Test Cricket

Kohli toured England three times in his Test career. He scored 1,096 runs in 17 matches at an average of 33.21. His debut series in 2014 was disappointing, as he managed just 134 runs at an average of 13.40.

However, he made a strong comeback in 2018, scoring 593 runs with two centuries at an average of 59.30. He scored 249 runs at an average of 27.66 during his final red-ball tour to England in 2021.

India lost the series in both 2014 (1-3) and 2018 (1-4), but Kohli helped the team take a 2-1 lead before COVID-19 postponed the final Test. The upcoming five-match series will commence on Friday, June 20, at Headingley in Leeds.

Also read: "Virat Kohli shouldn't have.."- Sachin Tendulkar's 1st verdict on Test Retirement