In a surprising event that rocked Indian cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin has reacted to the back-to-back Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He said he was stunned by the timing of the announcements, especially with the England tour just a week away. Ashwin, who himself retired from Test cricket in December, opened up about the developments on his YouTube show ‘Ash ki Baat’.
“I didn’t have an idea both [Rohit and Kohli] would retire together,” Ashwin admitted. “This will be a testing time for Indian cricket, and I’ll say this is truly now the beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era.”
Rohit Sharma announced his retirement on May 7 via social media, while Kohli followed on May 12 with an emotional post on Instagram. The duo’s retirement has left a significant void in the Indian dressing room, both in terms of leadership and experience, just before the selection committee meets to finalise the squad for the England tour.
Ashwin expressed his concern for the team in the absence of two of the most experienced players in the longest format: “Their retirements will definitely create a leadership vacuum. You can’t buy experience, especially on tours like this. Virat’s energy and Rohit’s composure will be missed,” he said.
As Shubman Gill’s name gains momentum for captaincy, Ashwin shared a different perspective: “The team that will tour England will be a completely new team, a transformed team where Bumrah will probably be the senior-most player. He is obviously one of the captaincy options; I think he deserves the captaincy, but the selectors will take a decision based on his physical capacity,” he said.
“Rohit, I felt, would at least go on till the England Test series” – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin also shared his opinion on whether Rohit and Kohli could have extended their Test careers: “There will be a sense of fulfilment, but I honestly feel Kohli definitely had one-two years of Test cricket left in him,” Ashwin said. “Rohit, I felt, would at least go on till the England Test series, because there’s a leadership vacuum in the team.”
He further added: “Tests has been the finest [format for India] in the last 10-12 years, but just for the sake of leadership, Rohit should’ve played till the England series, and if he’d performed, he could’ve carried on and given some more leadership.”
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