TOP STORIES

“India will miss his fighting spirit”: Ben Stokes lauds Virat Kohli

Wednesday, 18-Jun-20254 hrs ago
News

As the highly anticipated five-match Test series between India and England approaches, England's Test captain Ben Stokes has lauded Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, highlighting the void his absence will create in the Indian lineup. The series is set to commence on June 20, 2025, with India led by the promising young star Shubman Gill. Stokes lauded Kohli’s fighting spirit, which will be missing when both sides meet. India will be without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who brought an end to their Test careers ahead of the series. 

"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," Stokes said in a video released by England Cricket on their Instagram.

Having played 123 games for India, Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket in May with 9,230 runs to his name, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries

"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,” Stokes said.

“He has been incredible, and he deserves sort of I'm sure no doubt there's been a lot of praise for him over in India. There's definitely been praise from players over here and you know he's done really well against England so yeah, he has been a class player.” Stokes said.

Tags

More News

News

Former England opener expresses surprises over Iyer’s omission

6 hrs ago

Former England opening batter Nick Knight has voiced his surprise over India’s decision to omit Shreyas Iyer from their squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. Nick believed that Iyer should have been given a place in the squad. While Iyer has been in tremendously impressive form across all formats, he hasn't been able to make t...


News

Ravi Shastri reveals his preferred playing XI for India’s first Test vs England

8 hrs ago

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed his preferred playing XI for India's upcoming Test match against England, scheduled to begin on June 20 in Leeds. Shastri’s selection emphasises a strong pace attack, with four fast bowlers and one spinner. Shastri went for experienced all-rounder Shardul Thakur over Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fast bow...


News

Harshit Rana added to India's squad ahead of 1st Test against England

8 hrs ago

Indian pacer Harshit Rana has received a call-up to India’s Test squad for the first Test against England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced in a release late on Tuesday. The first Test between India and England will start on June 20 in Headingley. 

“The Men’s Selection Committee has added Harshit Rana to India’s squ...


News

“What was Rohit Sharma?” Ex-Indian star speaks on Gill’s appointment as Test captain

9 hrs ago

Former Indian cricketer Venkatapathy Raju has offered words of advice and encouragement to India’s newly appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, urging him to approach the leadership role with a positive mindset. Ex-BCCI selector Venkatapathy also backed Gill as the captain and felt that captaincy wouldn’t affect his performance negatively. Gill ...


News

"No fancy stories to it”: Jasprit Bumrah on not becoming India’s Test captain

21 hrs ago

In the aftermath of Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket, BCCI faced the challenge of identifying a suitable successor for the Test captaincy. Among the potential candidates was premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who had previously served as stand-in captain in Sharma’s absence. 

However, Bumrah made the decision not to pursue the r...