Ex-India cricketer slams Rohit and Kohli for sudden Test retirement ahead of England tour: 'Baton has not been passed, it has been thrown to Gill'

Former India cricketer Yograj Singh slammed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for retiring from Test cricket ahead of the crucial tour of England, adding that the baton hasn’t been passed to Shubman Gill but has been thrown at him. Yograj, father of legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, added that both Rohit and Kohli had another “five years” of Test cricket left in them, and should have played in the marquee England series, which marks the beginning of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for the Gill-led side.

“Virat and Rohit shouldn’t have retired from Tests. I told Rohit to get up at 5 AM and run for 20 km to keep himself fit. Virat and Rohit can still play for another 5 years in Test cricket. They should have played,” former India seamer Yograj told InsideSport.

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Rohit and Kohli had taken the cricketing world by surprise by announcing their retirement from the five-day format in the span of a week last month. It came less than a year after the two stalwarts bid Twenty20 Internationals goodbye after helping India win the T20 World Cup, making One-Day Internationals the only format they’re still active in.

Yograj cites Ganguly’s example while discussing succession in leadership

Yograj, who represented India in one Test and six ODIs between 1980 and 1981, cited the example of former India captain Sourav Ganguly while citing the importance of passing the baton to the next generation as a leader.

“They should be there to see that the baton is passed to the youngsters, just like Sourav Ganguly did. The baton has not been passed, it has been thrown to Gill,” he added.

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The five-match Test series against England gets underway five days from now at Headingley, Leeds, and will mark Gill’s first assignment as India Test captain, with the top-order batter having previously a second-string Indian team in the tour of Zimbabwe last year. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was named as Gill’s deputy by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee while they announced the squad last month.

Additionally, in-form top-order batter Sai Sudharsan earned a maiden India call-up and Karun Nair earned a recall after eight years in the wilderness while Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami were some of the surprise exclusions.