England Test captain Ben Stokes talked highly of Virat Kohli, who announced his Test retirement recently. Taking to social media, Kohli called time on his glorious Test career, which saw him play 123 matches and score 9230 runs at an average of over 46. Kohli’s decision to do away with Tests left the cricket world in a frenzy, including Stokes, who admitted texting him afterwards.
Stokes is back playing Tests - currently involved in an official four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. He will lead England in the marquee series against India starting June 20 in Leeds. The touring Indian side, however, will be without their two superstar batters – Virat and former team captain Rohit Sharma, who announced his Test retirement early in the month.
Stokes said India would miss Kohli's fighting spirit on the field this time and that he doesn’t see anyone else donning the number 18 jersey in Indian cricket again as a tribute to Kohli. Stokes continued, saying that he and Virat shared the same mindset, adding that the Indian great has been a class player all this while.
“I texted him, saying it’s going to be a shame not playing against him this time. I love playing against Virat. We both have that same mindset on the field – it’s a battle,” Stokes said in a video released by the ECB.
“What India will miss is his fighting spirit on the field, his competitiveness, his desire to win. He’s made No. 18 his own – we might never see it on the back of another Indian shirt. He’s been class for such a long time.
“He has been incredible, and no doubt there is a lot of praise coming for him from everywhere in India and from here. He has done really well against England,” he continued.
‘Virat is the best I’ve faced’
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Showering praises on the India great, Stokes called Virat one of the best players he has played against, especially in the white-ball formats, where he excelled and won multiple ICC titles.
The English Test captain also picked his favourite shot of Virat’s, and it’s not an on-drive.
“Definitely, he is up there. White-ball formats especially, just… wow. Something I will always remember about Virat is just how hard he hits the ball through covers. The cover drive would be the one,” Stokes said.
Meanwhile, Virat retired as India’s fourth-highest Test scorer, having hit 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
