Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma surprised everyone when they announced their retirement from Test cricket before the tour of England. Despite his poor form with the bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit had refused to bid adieu, but he changed his plans after a few months.
Virat was ready to play against England, but he too hung up his boots.
The sudden decision was not taken lightly by the fans and former players, who said that they were forced to announce their retirement. Karsan Ghavri, who opened the bowling alley with Kapil Dev in the 1970s, blamed the BCCI.
“Virat Kohli should have continued to play for a couple of years. But someone forced him to retire. He was not given a farewell. A great player like him should be given a grand farewell. He did a great service to BCCI, Indian cricket and fans,” Ghavri said on the Vickey Lalwani Show.
Virat Kohli scored over 9000 runs and hit 30 centuries in Test cricket. He is the most successful Indian skipper in the longest format of the game.
Rohit’s Test career was not as impressive as Virat’s, but he made useful contributions with the bat. Ghavri stated that the decision-makers were unwilling to continue with Kohli and Rohit in Test cricket, and the two were instructed to leave.
“It is due to the politics in the BCCI. I think Virat Kohli retired because of this. Even Rohit Sharma left Test cricket. They were asked to go. They wanted to continue, but the BCCI and the selectors had different ideas. It is a matter of petty politics,” he added.