Ben Stokes released a statement on social media to announce his retirement from the 50-over format, stating that playing all three formats was "just unsustainable" for him.
"You're the most competitive bloke I've ever played against. Respect," Kohli had written on Stokes' post.
Ben Stokes, the top all-rounder for England, was praised from all around the globe for his contributions to ODI cricket. He announced his shocking decision via his social media handles and even garnered a response from Virat Kohli. During his conversation with the official broadcaster, Stokes discussed Kohli's remarks.
"I love Virat. He is going to go down as one of the greatest ever players to play the game in all three formats. He is a phenomenal player and I absolutely love that I have played against someone like him. The energy and the commitment that he gives to the game is something which I have admired even before I started playing against him. When you play guys like that, you understand what it means not just to yourself but everybody else what it means to play the game at the top level," Stokes said on Sky Sports.
"I loved every single time I have played against him. I am sure we will have some more battles On the field."
“As I said in my statement, this England shirt deserves 100 percent from whoever wears it and unfortunately I didn’t like the feeling of not being able to contribute in the way I wanted to – and the feeling of stopping someone else from being able to progress in this format,” Stokes added.