Two Down In Indian Test Squad: Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma Announce Retirement After Australia Setback

The announcements in rapid succession from both incumbent captain Rohit Sharma and his predecessor, Virat Kohli, of their retirements from Test cricket have left the Indian cricket in a state of shock.

Truth be told, neither announcement comes as a complete surprise. Both Sharma and Kohli had poor runs in Australia, with India losing a series (3-1) they could have drawn or even won. That coming on the heels of the crushing 3-0 whitewash at home to the unheralded New Zealanders was a twin jolt to the Indian team and meant they were out of reckoning for this year’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s, an event for which India qualified (and lost) on both the previous occasions, in 2021 and 2023. And in both series the two stalwarts failed, putting the batting under immense pressure.

In the 2024-25 series Down Under, Sharma missed the first Test at Perth while on paternity leave and then dropped himself for the final Test at Sydney due to a miserable run of form in the intervening three Tests. Kohli, for his part, scored a match-winning 100 in the Perth test but that too was followed by a horror run. It was left to young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to shore up the Indian batting, but with no support from the veterans, India were forced to surrender the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

With the five-Test series starting in England next month, the Indian selectors have their task cut out. It is almost certain now that Shubnam Gill will be handed the captaincy reins, an onerous task for him in tough batting conditions. While champion fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah captained in both the first and fifth Tests in Australia in Sharma’s absence, it was felt there was too much pressure on India’s leading bowler, who is already battling injury problems.

There was a time not long back when Kohli was part of the ‘Fab Four’ of world batting, with Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Joe Root (England) and Steve Smith (Australia). But his form had fallen away calamitously over the last two years with just one century and his average slipping below the exalted 50 mark. His struggles outside the off-stump, starkly evident in Australia, would have been thoroughly exposed in England, where swing and movement are far more pronounced. So, the decision was a wise one.

Sharma was never in the same Test batting class as Kohli, though his stroke-play was a treat for the senses. As a captain, he practiced a low-key style of leadership, while the man he replaced at the top followed the in-your-face method of Sourav Ganguly.

The fact that both had announced their retirements from T20 Internationals last year means they will only be seen in India colours in ODIs from now on. Their priority, it would now appear, is the Indian Premier League.

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