Former India chief selector Kris Srikkant is miffed with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for not maintaining transparency and clear communication with icons Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma regarding their Test retirements, which happened in May this year. The batter's sudden exit before the England Test tour sent massive shock waves across India, as the duo were expected to play a major role in the five Tests against England.
The two batters had also given a green signal to BCCI's directive to play Ranji Trophy, and also played for Mumbai & Delhi respectively for a game. However, things suddenly nosedived after Rohit took to Instagram to announce his retirement from Test cricket. Days later, his good friend Kohli followed suit in the middle of the IPL 2025 season.
The duo's sudden going away from a format, which is so dear to them without a farewell Test have sparked huge speculations among former cricketers and experts. The fire was further ignited when Cheteshwar Pujara also announced his retirement last week, once again raising the question of why these legends were not even given a proper farewell match.
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Srikkant was utterly taken back on how the BCCI handled the Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma's retirements, saying the duo of their stature deserved a proper send-off.
"If you play 100 Tests for your country, you must be a terrific cricketer. So you should be given a good send-off. I am convinced there was a big communication gap when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired. They should have spoken to them, but instead, this is not a good look for the game and Indian cricket," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Virat Kohli deserved a proper send-off: Srikkant
The former India captain was mighty upset on how Kohli's retirement saga was handled, considering the way he impacted the game in the red-ball format. The RCB player finished his Test career as India's most successful captain in history, winning 40 Tests in the 67 he led. Srikkant feels the legend should have been treated in a much better way.
"Virat Kohli's retirement happened just like that. Virat Kohli deserved a better send-off. He still had two years of Test cricket left in him. But because we drew in England, such talks about him got shut off. However, India will find it difficult to get a cricketer like Virat Kohli for some time," he concluded.
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Kohli finished his Test career, scoring 9,230 runs in 123 Tests - He is fourth Indian among the all-time highest run scorers list, averaging 46.85, with 30 Test tons, which included seven double hundreds - the most ever scored by a captain. On the other hand, Rohit ended his red-ball career with 4,301 runs in 67 Tests at an average of 40.57, with 12 Tons. Srikkant also stated Pujara should have given a fitting send-off, considering his huge impact at the number three role in Test after Dravid's retirement.
“Similarly with Pujara, though it's been a while since he played for India, they should have spoken to him also about his retirement plans. Of course, the player also has to cooperate and realize when their time is up. Had that happened, Pujara would have got a better send-off. But it's a matter of cooperation between the player, selectors, and the BCCI," he added.
