Virat Kohli has communicated his desire to retire from Test cricket to the BCCI ahead of the big five-match series in England  starting June 20, for which he is expected to be a part of the squad. ESPNcricinfo understands that Kohli has been having these conversations with officials of the BCCI for the past month or so.

If Kohli doesn’t change his mind, he will bring the curtain down on a glorious career that has spanned 14 years and included 123 Tests – 68 of them as captain – in which he has 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.

But it hasn’t been a particularly fruitful time in the format for Kohli of late. When he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test in November 2024, it was his first century in Tests since July 2023 (against West Indies in Port of Spain), and his average, 55.10 at its peak after he scored his career best of 254 not out vs South Africa in Pune in 2019, has been 32.56 over the last 24 months.

(Cricinfo)

Russia has marked the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II with a massive military parade on Red Square in Moscow.

Attended by President Vladimir Putin, alongside foreign leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the “Victory Day” spectacle, celebrated on May 9, is Russia’s most important secular holiday.

The parade and other ceremonies underline Moscow’s efforts to project its global power and cement the alliances it has forged while seeking a counterbalance to the West amid the conflict in Ukraine that has dragged into a fourth year.

The fight against the Nazis in World War II – known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War – is a rare event in the nation’s divisive history under communist rule that is revered by all political groups. Putin has used that sentiment to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people as it fought Germany’s forces in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche.

Speaking at the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, saying that “we are proud of their courage and determination, their spiritual force that always has brought us victory”.

The event featured at least 11,500 soldiers and more than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, armoured infantry vehicles and artillery used on the battlefield in Ukraine. As a reminder of Russia’s nuclear might, launchers for the Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles rolled across Red Square.

Fighter jets from the air force’s aerobatic team flew by in close formation, followed by jets that trailed smoke in the colours of the national flag.

After the show, Putin shook hands with Russian military officers. He also talked to a group of medal-bedecked senior North Korean officers who watched the parade, hugging one of them.

Last month, Putin thanked North Korea for fighting alongside Russian troops against Ukrainian forces and hailed their sacrifices as Pyongyang confirmed their deployment for the first time.

Putin had declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting on May 8 to coincide with the Victory Day celebration, but warned that Russian troops would retaliate to any attacks.

The events were overshadowed by Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and severe disruptions at the capital’s airports.

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot on Wednesday morning cancelled more than 100 flights to and from Moscow, and delayed at least 140 others as the military repelled repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on the capital.