As India endured their second Test series whitewash within a year, conversations intensified around whether the selectors and team management should move on from senior stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and initiate a full transition under young captain Shubman Gill. The discussion erupted after India’s batting lineup crumbled during the two-match Freedom Trophy series against South Africa.
India’s Struggles In The Freedom Trophy
In the opening Test at Eden Gardens, India failed to chase a modest target of 124, allowing South Africa to seal a 30-run win. The situation worsened in the second Test, where the Temba Bavuma-led side handed India a crushing 408-run defeat, completing a 2-0 clean sweep.
Gavaskar’s Firm Response To Claims About Rohit And Virat
Speaking exclusively to AajTak, Sunil Gavaskar dismissed the idea that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom retired from Test cricket earlier this year, would have changed the outcome of the series. He stressed that even their presence would not have saved India.
The former captain said, “No, the call to take retirements must have been their call. Probably, they might have been asked to consider their future. But we can’t say that had they been here, we would have won. They were there when we lost to New Zealand. What happened when they were there? We lost 0-3, no? Then what happened in Australia? We should not be thinking on these lines. No, we can’t be thinking whether we pushed them to retirement. That is the wrong way to approach this.”
Senior Players And Their Final Test Assignments
Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were all part of the squad when India suffered a series whitewash against New Zealand. They also featured in the 2024 to 2025 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where Ashwin announced retirement after the second Test, while Kohli and Rohit stepped away from Test cricket after the series concluded in May 2025.
Both Rohit and Virat are currently in Ranchi as they prepare for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa starting on November 30.
India vs South Africa ODI Schedule
1st ODI on 30 November 2025 at JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi
2nd ODI on 3 December 2025 at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium, Raipur
3rd ODI on 6 December 2025 at Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam
India’s ODI Squad For The South Africa Series
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (captain and wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Dhruv Jurel.
