After Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket, all the reasons behind his decision were being speculated. But now his former friend and Royal Challengers in Bangalore, his former partner AB de Villiers has put an end to the debate. During a NGO project in Mumbai, a Mumbai program, de Villiers said that this decision of Virat Kohli was completely based on his “gut feeling”.

“He listened to his heart. I think Virat Kohli has done a lot for cricket for years. The good thing is that we will still see him playing on the field. He will definitely miss his shortage in Test cricket, but the heritage that he has left in the red ball cricket is fantastic,” De Villiers said.

After Virat Kohli, now youth will have to take responsibility

After the withdrawal of senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, a new phase is now starting for Team India. De Villiers admits that the time has come for young players to come forward and take responsibility for the team.

“Yes, now there is a big opportunity in front of the youth … Shubman Gill can now take responsibility. There is no shortage of talent in India, and a lot of credit goes to the IPL. It gives young players a big platform and experience in the beginning,” he said.

Vaibhav is making young players like Suryavanshi

Given the example of players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who made her IPL 2025 debut in IPL 2025, said that the new generation cricketers look very mature. “We saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi this year, and many other young players also came. They seem quite mature and ready in the first year. This is a very good sign for Indian cricket,” said de Villiers.

“England tour will be difficult, but confident can something special”

Regarding the upcoming England tour, de Villiers said that this will be a difficult test for Team India, but if the young players trust themselves, they can do something special. “They will have to take responsibility in England, it will be a difficult test, but they have the best talent in the world. If they believe in themselves, they can achieve something special,” said the former South African captain.

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