BCCI Politics Behind Kohli and Rohit’s Test Exit Alleges Karsan
For decades, Indian cricket has seen smooth generational transitions. Sourav Ganguly bowed out in 2008, Rahul Dravid in 2012, followed by VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in 2013. Virender Sehwag departed a year later. Seniors typically stepped aside gradually, paving the way for new talent.
This tradition was disrupted recently when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their Test retirements within just five days. Rohit first revealed his decision through an Instagram story. Two days later, it emerged that Kohli had informed the BCCI of his plan to retire. He made it official with an Instagram post 48 hours later. The double exit stunned fans across the country.
Speculation Over Sudden Retirements
Questions quickly arose—were these retirements voluntary or the result of pressure? Kohli soon turned out for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, telling his coach about his desire to score heavily in England. Around the same time, Rohit, speaking to Michael Clarke during the IPL break, expressed excitement for the upcoming Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The abrupt nature of their retirements only fueled speculation.
Ghavri’s Strong Allegations
Former India fast bowler Karsan Ghavri has now claimed both players were eager to continue but were sidelined due to politics within the BCCI and the selection panel led by 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 told the Vickey Lalwani Show.
Kohli and Rohit’s Test Careers
Kohli signed off as India’s fourth-highest Test run-getter with fewer than 10,000 runs. As captain, he notched 40 Test wins and secured India’s first-ever series win in Australia in 2018-19. Rohit, after moving up to opener in 2019, enjoyed a resurgence in his red-ball career.
Ghavri believes both retirements were engineered, not chosen.
“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 added.
The claims have intensified debates over whether internal decisions deprived Indian cricket of two more years of Kohli and Rohit in the Test arena.
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