Virat Kohli was talking about the England series: Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh

Delhi's head coach reflects on Virat Kohli's remarks on Ranji Trophy return (Source: X)

Delhi head coach, Sarandeep Singh, expressed complete surprise moments after declared his retirement from Test cricket. Sarandeep went onto shed light on Kohli's thought process when he had made his return to the Ranji Trophy after a period of more than 12 years in Delhi's game against Railways in the 2024-25 edition of the domestic tournament. 

The former Indian spinner also shared that Kohli was confident of his preparation for the upcoming England tour, and would also score a heap of runs in the same manner he did in 2018. 

"Not at all, there was no sign of him retiring from any form of cricket because he is coming to play red-ball cricket, so he had no thinking like that. Even at that time, he was talking about the England series with the Test matches that are coming. So, he is going to play there. And this time, he will be very much prepared, he said. He is going to score maximum hundreds, which he did the last time in 2018 when he went to England. He scored a lot of runs over there. So, he will be well prepared for the England tour too. So, there is nothing like that when it came to Ranji Trophy matches," stated Sarandeep.

Sarandeep admitted that with Kohli hanging up his boots, he doesn't have a lot of idea how would fare in their series against England. 

"In the coming time, he was looking forward to it. So, I don't know. Still, we thought that we would see him on the England tour. He is one of the most senior players. Especially, the England tour is very tough. So, without him, I don't know how the Indian team will manage now," added Sarandeep.

VIDEO | Here's what ex-India spinner and Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh on Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket and his stint during his return to Delhi's Ranji side.

"Not at all, there was no sign of him retiring from any form of cricket because he is coming to play red-ball… pic.twitter.com/0T5L6WpEcy

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 12, 2025

The 50-over format is the only one left for Kohli after calling time on his Test and T20I careers. With one of India's most seasoned batters not being available for the England tour in addition to Rohit Sharma who recently retired from Tests as well, it would be interesting with regards to how the Indian unit will manage to perform.