'We All Feel...' Were Rohit & Kohli Forced to Quit Tests? BCCI FINALLY Breaks Silence!

Just a few days before India’s squad for the tour of England was to be announced, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli left everyone in shock by retiring from Test cricket. Last year they had already called time from T20Is and that meant the ODI format was the last one remaining. But ever since they announced their decision to leave the oldest version of the game, there has been a lot of speculation regarding their exit.

Lots of Speculation

Rumours have been rampant that the retirements were ‘forced’ upon them by the BCCI. This came in the wake of India losing 3-1 in Australia and 3-0 to New Zealand before that. There were reports that the BCCI wanted to try a new crop of players and these two were no longer in the scheme of things.

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BCCI Breaks Silence

The BCCI has now broken its silence on the matter. Vice-President Rajeev Shukla has said point-blank that nobody forced Rohit and Kohli to leave Test cricket and the decision was theirs alone. He said that the BCCI’s policy did not allow it to tell a player when to retire and that both these cricketers were available to play ODIs.

"I want to make it very clear once and for all. We all feel Rohit and Virat's absence, but they took the decision on their own. BCCI has a policy of never telling any player when to retire and from which format. This is on the player. This was their own decision. They retired on their own. We will always miss them. We consider them great batters. The good thing is they are available in ODIs," he told ANI.

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International Comeback

It remains to be seen when Rohit and Kohli shall be seen in India colours again. The tour of Bangladesh in August has been cancelled and while there is a potential tour of Sri Lanka being considered, it is not confirmed. As of now, India’s next ODI is on October 19 vs Australia which is when we will see these two stalwarts back in action.

India in England

India are currently touring England for a five-match Test series under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. Other than Rohit and Kohli, there is no Ravichandran Ashwin (retired), Mohammed Shami (fitness concerns) and Shreyas Iyer (not considered). India currently trail 2-1 with two games to go.