Cox joined RCB for the first time this year as they defended their IPL title. Although he did not play a game, he struck up a relationship with legendary former India captain Kohli.
The Essex batter showed glimpses of his potential with scores of 27 and 25 at number seven on his Test debut in a match England lost.
Now, with Bethell absent because of a knee injury, Cox has been told he will bat at number three in at least the first two Tests of the three-match series against Pakistan and said he will once again draw on the advice from Kohli.
“I’ll keep it forever, I think,” said Cox. “He’s someone that I’ve looked up to and I’ve managed to spend what felt like four months with him in India. He’s someone that I’ll text if I’m ever feeling down or need a bit of help. He’s always at the end of the phone.”
Cox also linked the help from Kohli to his previous disappointment of missing out on a Test debut in New Zealand in 2024.
The former Kent man was poised to deputise for Jamie Smith, who was on paternity leave, only to suffer a broken thumb in the nets and miss the entire series.
The opportunity instead went to Bethell, who has gone on to establish himself in the England team across all three formats.
“I was three days away from playing my first Test and then got injured, which was just unlucky, a freak incident,” said Cox. “There were definitely thoughts of ‘I’m never going to play again’.
“I had that Test cap right there, then I couldn’t get it. It felt like that was the end, as bad as that sounds.
“I remember talking to Virat about it. He said: ‘There are billions of people who don’t even know who I am. The sun will come up in the morning – I don’t really care’.
“Obviously he cares when he goes out on to the field of play, because he’s crazy on the field. When he comes off the field, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll meet.
“It’s about how I can be like that. How can I be really aggressive on the field, then when I come off everyone says ‘He’s a great bloke’?”
All-rounder Stokes announced his retirement during the third and deciding Test against New Zealand in June.
Since that match and series was lost, England have sacked Brendon McCullum as Test coach.
McCullum’s replacement Stephen Fleming will not be in post until the winter, so England are being led this week by interim coach Marcus Trescothick, while Joe Root begins his second stint as Test captain.
Cox will bat at three, with Surrey’s Dan Lawrence recalled to bat at number six and offer some off-spin. The hosts seem set to field four frontline pace bowlers, especially as rain is forecast in Leeds this week, with England’s training affected by indifferent weather on Monday.
Under Stokes and McCullum, England often named their team two days before a match started, but declined to on Monday partly because two of their frontline seamers – Atkinson and Josh Tongue – were travelling from London after playing in The Hundred final on Sunday.
If fit, Tongue and Atkinson could join Jofra Archer and Ollie Robinson in the pace quartet. Opener Ben Duckett joined the training session later than the other members of the squad after his journey from Lord’s.
England are looking to improve their poor recent record of two wins in 10 Tests against a Pakistan team that has not won a series in this country for 30 years.
The tourists are hoping captain Babar Azam and fellow batter Shan Masood are fit to play after hand and finger injuries respectively.
