Former Indian cricket team batter Robin Uthappa has sent a huge message to Virat Kohli regarding his Test retirement, urging the star batsman to reverse his decision and return to the longest format of the game. Uthappa’s call comes as Kohli prepares for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, with the former India wicketkeeper-batsman posting a viral message on social media suggesting it’s time for Kohli to make a comeback to Test cricket.

“Surely it’s time to rescind his Test retirement”

Uthappa posted a picture of Kohli sweating it out in the nets ahead of the first ODI match along with the caption: “Them eyes tell u a story Surely it’s time to rescind his Test retirement. Would love to see him back in Test cricket.”

The post has sparked widespread debate among cricket fans and experts about whether Kohli should consider reversing his decision to retire from Test cricket. Kohli retired from the longest format of the sport just ahead of the England series in 2025 and is now only active in ODIs, where he will take part in the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand starting Sunday.

Kohli and Rohit in prime form for New Zealand ODIs

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s prime form is expected to drive India’s progress in ODIs as the full-strength hosts take on a new-look New Zealand in the first match of the three-match series on Sunday at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Kotambi.

Even as focus remains on the T20 World Cup, which is less than a month away, Kohli and Rohit will hog the limelight in the three ODIs over the next seven days. There has been no dearth of game-time for the two superstars who played a couple of matches each in the Vijay Hazare Trophy’s league round, piling up big runs to underline that they are not going away anytime soon.

Shubman Gill returns as captain after T20 WC snub

But it remains to be seen how India captain Shubman Gill responds after being axed from the T20 World Cup side, with his form being a concern apart from the injuries that kept him out of the majority of the series against South Africa late last year.

Gill’s return, however, is likely to take Yashasvi Jaiswal out of the top order where he scored his maiden ODI century in the last match against South Africa. The return of Shreyas Iyer should end a largely unsuccessful run of experiments in the batting order, with the 31-year-old set to claim his No. 4 spot back.

KL Rahul keeps wickets, Rishabh Pant on bench

KL Rahul’s continued role as a lower-order batter and wicketkeeper is set to keep Rishabh Pant out of the XI, with the latter remaining second choice in the 50-overs format. While Iyer, Pant, and Mohammed Siraj were not part of the preparations for the ODI series in Kotambi until Saturday, Ravindra Jadeja trained at full tilt on Friday, signaling his availability.

Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are not part of the ODI series to keep them fresh for T20 assignments, leaving the pace-bowling duties to Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna.

Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, and Jadeja will share the spin-bowling responsibilities in a format where evening dew and the flat nature of wickets across the country ensure that the emphasis shifts to containment rather than aggressive wicket-taking.

New venue makes international debut

It will be the first time that the new Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Kotambi will host a men’s international. The venue has previously hosted a women’s ODI series between India and the West Indies.

New Zealand missing key players

For New Zealand, their loss to India in last year’s Champions Trophy final carries little significance, as this series presents an ideal opportunity to test new and second-line players. Mitchell Santner is missing the ODIs due to a groin injury and Tom Latham is back home for the birth of his first child. Former captain Kane Williamson is in South Africa, fulfilling his T20 commitments in the SA20.

Rachin Ravindra and fast bowler Jacob Duffy have been rested, while Matt Henry, returning from a calf tear, is focused on returning in the T20I series keeping the World Cup in mind.

Michael Bracewell will lead the side in Santner’s absence, who will return for the T20Is. Attention will also be on how the lanky all-rounder Kyle Jamieson and the 23-year-old leg-spinner Adithya Ashok perform. Jayden Lennox has been brought into the Kiwis’ side as a like-for-like replacement for Santner.

New Zealand’s batting still formidable

Even with plenty of new and inexperienced faces in the squad, New Zealand still have formidable batting strength which includes Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, and Glenn Phillips.