I have been reading a lot of articles that the white-ball series in Australia will be the last for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. First things first, don’t club them together. That’s not the right thing to do. Secondly, while captaincy is indeed a call the management can take, how does anyone ask a player to retire if he is performing?
Take the last assignment for both Kohli and Rohit. Kohli was very impressive and even scored a hundred against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. He was consistent and followed the Champions Trophy with a very impressive IPL. At no point did he look unfit or any less hungry. Rohit too had a good Champions Trophy final, where he played a stellar hand in India’s win. While he wasn’t his consistent self in the rest of the tournament, his aggressive approach at the top in 50-overs cricket is fraught with risk and allows him to play these cameos. The bottom line is that both of them performed in their last assignment for India.
That’s that brings me to the question of retirement. Do they want to retire? Have they spoken to the BCCI about it? Do they not have the hunger to continue? Yet again, let me state that they could very well end their careers in Australia. But it will be their call. No one can dictate when a player retires. Yes, he can be dropped. If a player doesn’t perform, he will almost certainly be dropped. Playing for India isn’t an entitlement, and no one is exempt from the axe. But in a scenario where both of them, or either one, score runs in Australia, will they want to give up? What’s the logic? If that’s the plan, why even travel to Australia for a relatively inconsequential three-match bilateral ODI series?
The 50-over World Cup is not round the corner, so all these bilateral contests lack context. To have Kohli and Rohit traveling to Australia just to get a farewell ODI series doesn’t really add up.
My point here is simple: they should surely retire if they think they don’t have the game anymore. If the hunger to do well for India and push their bodies doesn’t drive them anymore. Kohli is the fitter of the two, and can perhaps play on a tad longer. If he has the hunger, that is. Either way, retirement is a personal call. To think that someone would tell Kohli to retire from the format of his choice when he still has the game to play on and score runs sounds strange. He is arguably the greatest white-ball player ever, and is still scoring runs consistently. So, why? How does one explain this logic?
With the World Cup still two years away, it could well be that these two decide to give up and call it a day. It is possible. If they don’t feel hungry anymore, they will call time. But to suggest that they will be phased out after Australia, or that it is their last assignment, is premature and perhaps more kite-flying than anything else.
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