Reports: Virat Kohli's selection for England tour to depend on Shubman Gill

Ace India batter, Virat Kohli, has been under the pump in the past several months for his lacklustre performances with the bat in the longest format of the game. He could only muster 190 runs in nine innings of the recently-concluded edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This, as a result, has further intensified scrutiny on the New Delhi-born.

The All India Men's Senior Selection Committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, assembled at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, January 11, to discuss the T20I side for the England series. Another vital topic under consideration was the future of Kohli and Rohit Sharma after their persistent batting slump.

As per a recent report by Hindustan Times, Shubman Gill's form in the near future will serve as a benchmark for Kohli's future in the Test team.

"With the five-Test series against England still five months away, the selectors are likely to sit over the matter before forming an opinion. Shubman Gill hasn’t settled into the Kohli role as he was expected to; nowhere close to how ready Kohli was when Sachin Tendulkar hung up his boots. This is something that will be factored in by Agarkar’s selection committee," the report said.

The same report further added that the board's review meeting, attended by head coach, the captain, and the chief selector, also saw the presence of BCCI joint secretary Devajit Saikia, and ex-BCCI Secy and ICC chairperson Jay Shah. Before an outcome of the meeting was derived, an extensive discussion on the Kohli-Gill duo was made by the attendees.

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The 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy might well be the final 50-over global tournament Kohli and Rohit will feature in. India would be aiming to lift their spirits and put in a much-better performance than they have in the past few months.