'Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma wanted to continue in Tests but were told to go': Former India cricketer lashes out at BCCI

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s sudden decision to retire from Test cricket left a lot to contemplate and speculate about. While three months have passed since the departure of the stalwarts from the longest format of the game, the fans have still not made peace with the fact that they went out voluntarily. Many faithful fans of the two have claimed on social media that the BCCI forced Kohli and Rohit to retire.

Former India cricketer Karsan Ghavri, who played alongside Kapil Dev in the 1970s, believes that Virat Kohli had a couple of good years of Test cricket left in him. He alleged that the BCCI forced both Kohli and Rohit Sharma out of the exit door, doing them a disservice by making them retire unceremoniously.

“He [Kohli] should have definitely continued playing for India easily, probably for another couple of years, Gharvi said on the Vickey Lalwani Show, as quoted by HT. “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 makes strong allegations against BCCI

Gharvi, who played 39 Tests and 19 ODIs for India, went uncensored and held BCCI’s petty politics responsible for the premature retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

“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,” Ghavri added.

Given that both Rohit and Kohli retired just a few days ahead of the squad announcement for the England tour, the odd timing was enough to leave people skeptical about whether they really intended to quit the format.

Additionally, why would Kohli return to play a Ranji Trophy match earlier this year if he had decided to move away from the format? Furthermore, Rohit, in a casual chat with Michael Clarke, during the IPL break, had clearly stated that he was looking forward to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. These factors fueled suspicion, but it’s unlikely any revelations will confirm if something is amiss.