Former England cricketer Michael Atherton has said that he “loved” watching Virat Kohli play every day of his 123 Tests and felt it was hard for someone to take their eyes off the India stalwart when he dazzled on the crease in the red-ball format. Virat penned a note on Instagram on Monday to announce his retirement from red-ball cricket, days after his long-time compatriot Rohit Sharma bid adieu to the format. In a journey that redefined the demands of the game, Virat scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties and finish as India’s fourth-highest run-getter in the format.

“You couldn’t take your eyes off Kohli, that’s what I always felt like watching him. It was noticeable to me that in his retirement statement, he referenced the challenges that Test cricket had given him. I loved watching him play every day of his 123 Tests. He put his heart and soul into Test cricket, and that energy and passion never seemed to dim,” Atherton said, according to Sky Sports.

Virat’s retirement from the whites marked the end of an era. However, the timing of his decision has left India to figure out a suitable replacement for the number four position for next month’s England tour, a spot Virat held for 14 years.

“It feels as though at the start of a new World Test Championship cycle, this is the moment that India will start to regenerate and reshape their team. We’re not sure who is going to take his place at No. 4 yet, and you kind of pity the person who has to follow because you’ve just had about 15 years of Kohli and before that, it was Sachin Tendulkar,” he added.

Apart from filling the vacant number four spot, the Indian management needs to identify former skipper Rohit’s successor. According to recent reports, Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to take on the captaincy tag despite Bumrah serving as former skipper Rohit’s deputy in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He served as the stand-in captain in Perth and led the side when Rohit opted out in the final Test in Sydney.

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