Virat Kohli begins ODI comeback prep with indoor session in London

Amid ongoing speculation about his international future, India’s ODI stalwart Virat Kohli has returned to training in London, thanking Gujarat Titans assistant coach Naeem Amin for assisting in an indoor session. “Thanks for helping out with the hit, brother. Always lovely to see you,” Kohli wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo with Amin. The coach, who runs the Mighty Willow Academy across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and London, reshared the post with the message: “Good to see you, brother! See you soon.”

Amin, a former Sunrisers Hyderabad staff member in the IPL, has previously hosted top players for practice, including India all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Since retiring from Tests and T20Is in June 2024, Kohli’s cricketing focus has shifted to ODIs and the IPL, where he plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The 35-year-old last featured in competitive cricket in the IPL 2025 final, scoring a crucial 43 to guide RCB to their first-ever title with a six-run win over Punjab Kings at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Fans will have to wait until October 2025 to see Kohli back in action, as India’s next ODI assignment comes during their white-ball tour of Australia. Alongside Rohit Sharma, Kohli is expected to feature in the three-match series starting October 19 in Perth, followed by games in Adelaide (October 23) and Sydney (October 25).

Leeds pitch used for England-India Test rated ‘very good’

The pitch used for the opening Test between England and India at Headingley, Leeds, has received a ‘very good’ rating, while the surfaces for the following three Tests were rated ‘satisfactory’, according to the ICC’s latest pitch and outfield assessments.

The verdicts come in the aftermath of a gripping Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, which ended 2-2 after Shubman Gill’s side clinched a nail-biting six-run win in the fifth Test at The Oval. Remarkably, all five matches went the full distance, with only the Manchester Test ending in a draw. At Headingley, both the pitch and outfield earned a ‘very good’ grade. The second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, saw the pitch rated ‘satisfactory’ and the outfield ‘very good’ — ratings that remained unchanged for the third and fourth Tests at Lord’s, London, and Old Trafford, Manchester.

The ICC has yet to announce the pitch and outfield ratings for the final Test at The Oval. By contrast, in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, four of the five pitches received the top-tier ‘very good’ rating under the ICC’s updated evaluation criteria.