New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has rejected suggestions that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma deserve a Sachin Tendulkar-style farewell series, clarifying that both senior cricketers are still active in One-Day Internationals.
Kohli and Rohit have already retired from T20Is and Tests, leaving ODIs as the only format where they continue to represent India. With the Champions Trophy concluding in February, their next international outing will come in October against Australia, followed by a handful of limited-overs fixtures. This long gap has fueled speculation that the series could be among their last in India colours.
However, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla dismissed such talk in strong words during a podcast at the UPT20.
“Woh retire kaha hue? (When did they retire?) Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will both play one-dayers. If they are still playing, why are you worried about a farewell series? They’ve retired from some formats, yes, but they continue in ODIs. There is no need to overthink this,” Shukla said.
He added that retirement is an individual decision. “Our policy is very clear. We don’t tell any player to retire. The player himself decides, and we respect that. Virat Kohli is extremely fit, Rohit Sharma is performing well. Why talk of farewell now?”
Meanwhile, reports suggesting that Kohli and Rohit may need to play in the domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy to strengthen their case for ODI selection have also been rubbished.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra slammed the rumours, calling them “bogus talk.” On his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “The Vijay Hazare Trophy is held in November-December, but India have only nine ODIs before the next IPL—three each against Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The gaps between series are massive. Playing a domestic one-day event will not influence their selection. Let’s be honest, Kohli and Rohit don’t need that.”
Chopra further argued that if the two had continued with Test cricket instead of ODIs, maintaining rhythm would have been easier, given the frequent fixtures in the longer format.
