England captain Ben Stokes said that India will miss Virat Kohli's fighting spirit during the five-match Test series against England. Kohli is not part of the Test squad as he announced his retirement from the format ahead of the Test series. Kohli was going through a lean run in Tests, and a poor series against Australia gave him a reality check. Along with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma also announced his retirement from the format before the Test series. Shubman Gill was named the captain of the side, with Rishabh Pant as his deputy.

“I think what India will miss will be his fighting spirit out in the game, his competitiveness, desire to win. He has made number 18 his, hasn’t he? It’ll be a bit weird not seeing number 18 on the back of anyone… of any Indian shirt, but he has been class for them for a long period of time,” Stokes said in a video released by ECB.

Stokes also revealed that he texted Virat Kohli after he announced his retirement from the format. The England captain said he told India great that it would be a shame to not play against him in Tests.

“I did text him, saying it’s going to be a shame not to play against him because I love playing against Virat. We both love playing against each other because we have that same mindset when we are out in the field that it’s a battle.

“He has been incredible and he deserves sort of I’m sure no doubt there’s been a lot of praise for him over in India. There’s definitely been praise from players over here and you know he’s done really well against England, so yeah, he has been a class player.”

The first Test between India and England gets underway on June 20 at Leeds.

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