Team India is currently undergoing a transition following the retirements of several senior players. This phase started with Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement from Test cricket during the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia in 2024-25. Subsequently, veteran batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements from the longest format in May, just before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in 2025.
Rohit was the first to reveal his decision, through an Instagram story. Shortly after, it emerged that Kohli had formally informed the BCCI of his intention to retire from Test cricket, making it official within 48 hours via an Instagram post. Their departures took fans by surprise, sparking widespread speculation that they may have been pushed out of the team rather than retiring voluntarily.
India’s former left-arm pacer Karsan Ghavri, who opened the bowling with Kapil Dev in the 1970s, added fuel to these rumors. Speaking on the Vickey Lalwani Show, Ghavri claimed that both Kohli and Rohit wished to continue playing Tests but were forced into retirement because of BCCI’s internal politics and the selection panel led by chairman Ajit Agarkar.
“He [Kohli] should have definitely continued playing for India easily, probably for another couple of years. 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 said.
Kohli Legacy
Kohli finished as India’s fourth-highest run-scorer in Tests, amassing just under 10,000 runs over a 14-year career. He is widely regarded as one of the best captains India has had in Test cricket with 40 victories, including the historic series win in Australia during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Though his form declined in the later years, it remains difficult to accept that he ended his Test career at just 36, in the format he loved most.
Rohit’s Test career never soared to the heights Kohli’s did. However, after transitioning to an opener in September 2019, he found a renewed rhythm in his batting. Ghavri also suggested that both players did not retire by choice but were essentially forced out due to politics within the BCCI.
Petty Politics
“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 explained.
The final time Rohit and Kohli represented India internationally was in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where India triumphed over New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium to claim the title.
