Ashwin questions BCCI’s handling of Kohli and Rohit exits, Team India transition: ‘There isn’t much communication’

Legendary Indian cricketers and a former teammate of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, has questioned the way the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Team India management are handling the transition and exits of the iconic batters.

Ashwin feels that while India’s incredible talent supply chain has given confidence to replace Kohli and Rohit in the team, there’s a need for a proper transition plan and knowledge transfer.

“On one side is selection, on the other side is Kohli and Rohit. These are two sides of the same coin. The selection and selectors have clearly shown that the team had decided to move forward. However, in this process, two players are at the back end of their careers. You like it or not, they are at the back-end of their careers. However, one thing I would like to say is that the way to deal with players at the back-end of their careers should be better,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

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“It is very easy to say from a fan’s perspective, from an organization’s perspective that they have grown old and should retire,” he added.

“One of the reasons we feel this way is that we see many young players in the IPL performing well, and we believe they can replace these experienced players. However, during this process, one thing we often overlook is solid communication and knowledge transfer. I request that this be addressed in the future,” he added.

Ashwin slams BCCI messaging on Kohli and Rohit

Ashwin also said that there’s a lack of proper communication from the BCCI selection panel, which is headed by Ajit Agarkar, that has resulted in a lot of speculation.

“I really hope the conversation has happened with Virat and Rohit. But if the conversation has happened now, why did it not happen after they said they were retiring after the 2024 T20 World Cup? It could have happened then itself. Had it happened back then, they could have thought about whether to continue playing or not, because this is the direction the team wishes to head towards,” Ashwin added.

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“But now, this current situation leaves a lot of uninformed space. When there is uninformed decision-making that is put outside, you leave a lot of room for speculation. Why is the communication not coming from the players? Because there is not much communication happening, it is not going from here to there. If the communication is not clean, transparent, and not done with the vision moving forward, it leaves the players in a very tender space. Considering the magnitude of Virat and Rohit’s contribution to Indian cricket, I think there should be better communication not only to them, but to everyone else.”