Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma wanted to continue in Tests but were told to go: India legend fires a rocket at Agarkar, BCCI

Hindustan Times

a day ago

Sourav Ganguly retired in October 2008. Four years later, in 2012, Rahul Dravid called time on a glorious 16-year-long career. VVS Laxman was the next to go after a few months, followed by Sachin Tendulkar in November 2013. Eleven months later, it was Virender Sehwag's turn. In a span of two years, four of the Fab Five of Indian cricket were gone. Just like that. That's how retirement in Indian cricket has traditionally been. The transition takes place gradually. One by one, the seniors, because of their dwindling forms and slowing reflexes, take a step back, allowing the youngsters to take over. They don't always leave at the same time. Rohit Sharma (L) and Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket roughly within a week of each other in May earlier this year(File)
However, three months later, this pattern broke when two of Indian cricket's biggest batting stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, announced their retirements from Test cricket, all within a five-day gap. Rohit was the first to pull the plug on his Test career, casually dropping an Instagram story to announce his departure from the India whites. Two days later, news broke that Kohli wrote to the BCCI that he wants to retire from Test cricket. And in the next 48 hours, he made it official through a post on Instagram. Kohli, Rohit. Also gone. Just like that.
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Over the next 15-20 days, multiple theories and reports came to light. Were they genuinely done or forced to retire? After all, Kohli returned to play Ranji Trophy for Delhi, and even told his Delhi coach that he wanted to score at least 4-5 centuries in England this time round. And Rohit, in a freewheeling chat with Michael Clarke, during the IPL break, had clearly mentioned that he was looking forward to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. But the fact that all of this resulted in their retirements didn't sit well with the fans, with many speculating behind-the-scenes roles that led to… rather pushed them to retire.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli asked, 'How will you keep yourself motivated?'; 'Should have said we won't play ODIs, T20Is'
Time may or may not answer this question, but legendary Indian cricketer Karsan Ghavri has. The former left-arm pacer for India, who opened the bowling with Kapil Dev in the 1970s, has added fuel to the fire, openly claiming that while Kohli, Rohit wanted to continue playing Tests for India, the BCCI's 'politics', along with the selection panel led by its chairman Ajit Agarkar, eventually made the decision to shove Ro-Ko out of Test cricket.
"He [Kohli] should have definitely continued playing for India easily, probably for another couple of years. But something really forced him to retire. And unfortunately, when he retired, he was not even given a farewell by the BCCI. Such players, such a great player who has done such great service to BCCI, India cricket and Indian fans, should be given a grand and fabulous farewell," Ghavri, who played 39 Tests and 19 ODIs for India, said on the Vickey Lalwani Show.
Karsan Ghavri goes on record
Kohli went out as the fourth-highest run-getter for Tests in India, finishing with less than 10,000 runs in the format, a fact that is still tough to digest given his quality. During his 14-year-long career, Kohli became India's greatest Test captain, leading the team to 40 wins, including the first-ever series win in Australia during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. There's no denying the fact that Kohli's Test form plummeted in the last five years, but it's hard to come to terms with the fact that he let go of the format he loves the most at the age of 36.
Rohit's Test career never quite took off like Kohli's, but after being made to open in September 2019, he enjoyed a second wind in his batting. Ghavri, 74, went on record to state that the decision-makers did not want to see Kohli and Rohit take any further part in Test cricket, and despite Ro-Ko's resistance, they were asked to leave.
"It's due to internal politics within the BCCI, which is hard to understand. And I think this is the reason he retired prematurely. Even Rohit Sharma retired prematurely. They were asked to go out. It's not like they wanted to leave. They wanted to continue. But the selectors and BCCI had different ideas. It was a matter of some kind of petty politics," added Ghavri.