The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajeev Shukla has broken his silence on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s test retirements, stating that the board does not influence their decisions.
He addressed the rumours that followed India’s 4-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which likely seemed to be the end of an era.
Speculations have rised that BCCI was leaning towards a youth-driven overhaul of the Test side and may have nudged its veteran to step aside.
“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 took retirement on their own. We will always miss them. We consider them great batters. The good thing is they are available in ODIs,” said Rajeev Shukla.
India’s Test side entered a new phase before the start of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which will see the absence of the Indian legends in Test after a long time.
Rohit Sharma took to social media to announce his retirement while Kohli announced his retirement despite several reports suggested that BCCI officials had tried to convince him to carry on for at least one more series.
Shukla reiterated that while the BCCI deeply values both Kohli and Rohit for their contributions to Indian cricket.
He made it clear that the board will miss the legends in the format but continues to celebrate their presence in the ODI setup.
Shubman Gill-led test side has been performing in the England where they trail the series 1-2 and will be aiming for a win in the fourth test to draw level in the series.
The fourth test will be played between July 23 and 27 at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester.
