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Cricket PlayersVirat Kohli's first post on Indian cricket after retirement is for Shubman Gill: 'Star boy, you deserve all of this'
India vs England, 2nd Test: Shubman Gill had a record-breaking Edgbaston Test against England, and even ‘King’ Virat Kohli is in awe.
Virat Kohli. Where have you been all this time? Are you even following Indian cricket anymore? All this while, so many individual performances and not one reaction? How could it be? Rishabh Pant scored twin centuries, Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his glorious streak. The one and only Jasprit Bumrah set the Leeds Test on fire with yet another five-wicket haul, and who can forget, Shubman Gill rewrote history and record books in Edgbaston.
All these questions are now a thing of the past. The 'King' of Indian cricket, who broke many a heart by announcing his retirement from Test cricket has emerged back on social media, with a post that absolutely will melt hearts. Kohli, who since winning the IPL trophy with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has been woefully off radar. Barring a couple of videos of him on the streets of London, there wasn't much news about him. Yes, he did invite some members of the Indian cricket team to his home but remained hidden from public space.
Until now.
It took Shubman Gill and some never-before-seen batting for even Kohli to break his silence. He is in awe of Gill's performance in the ongoing Edgbaston Test against England. The India captain, who scored 430 runs in total in the second Test of the five-match series to help the visitors take a commanding position against England, carried on from where he left off in the first innings. He had scored 269 runs, the most runs by an Indian batter in the UK, and in the second innings, built on it by adding another 161 runs off 162 balls to help India set England a target of 608.
Kohli shared a picture of Gill on Instagram stories, dubbing the India Test captain "star boy". "Well played, star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this," Kohli wrote.
Heading into the series against England, the pressure was firmly on Gill. He had no centuries in SENA countries, and besides, Gill had the task of leading the side in transition without Rohit Sharma, Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin following their Test retirements. To pile further pressure, Gill had the task of batting at a position that Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar immortalised. Batting at No.4 was huge.
However, Gill made his intentions clear from the series opener, smashing 147 runs in the first innings of the Headingley Test. However, the ton went in vain as India lost after England chased down more than 370 runs.
Gill played a loose shot in the first innings of the Headingley Test but learnt his lesson as he went long in the Edgbaston game, scoring 269 runs in the first innings and helping India post 587.
The right-handed batter then ensured India did not squander the advantage of gaining a 180-run lead as he scored 161 runs in the second innings. As a result of this effort, he now has the second most runs in a single Test, only behind Graham Gooch.
Virat's Test retirement
Kohli announced his retirement from Tests earlier this year. His announcement came just days ahead of the squad reveal for the England series. He posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, confirming his decision.
During the squad announcement for the England tour, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Kohli contacted him in April 2025 to inform him about his intention to quit the longest format.
Kohli played 123 Tests, scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
Coming back to the Edgbaston Test, India declared their second innings at 427/6, setting England a target of 608. KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant also posted half-centuries for the visitors.
In the first innings, India gained a lead of 180 runs after Mohammed Siraj's six-wicket haul bundled out England for 407.
