On Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli Probable Retirement, India Star's Message To BCCI: "You Want Them To Get..."

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's future is under intense focus at the moment. The star duo has already retired from Tests and T20Is and are currently active only in ODIs. Both retired from the T20I format after India's win in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, while they announced their retirement from Tests just days before the squad for the India vs England Test series was revealed. Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi expressed hope that the duo receives a proper farewell from ODIs. When asked about his thoughts on their retirements from Tests and T20Is, Bishnoi gave an intriguing response.

“It is actually shocking, because you always want to see them retire on the field. For such big legends, you want them to leave while still playing—that looks much better. And what both of them have done for India, in my view, there is no one even close,” Ravi Bishnoi said in an interview on Gamechangers.

“You want them to get a good farewell, and maybe they will get that in ODIs as well, whenever they choose to retire. Because no one can tell you when to retire—it's a personal decision. But it was shocking when both of them retired, because suddenly it felt like two spots had become vacant. Who will step in to fill that?”

Recently, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara was asked about the duo's future, but he suggested that both of them don't need any advice, as they are the two most senior members of the team.

"I don't need to give any advice because they are some of the best players in white-ball cricket. Even if they are playing just one format, they are experienced enough to know what is expected of them," Pujara said during The Indian Express Idea Exchange.

Pujara added that Kohli and Rohit will step away from international cricket automatically once they feel they can no longer contribute to the team.

"They are such talented players. Look at the records Virat and Rohit have. They also know when the right time is for them to call it quits. They understand the level of commitment required, and if they are fit enough, they can continue playing international cricket for a long time," he added.

Bishnoi also spoke about a Vaibhav Suryavanshi's rising talent:

“It is challenging against everyone now, but his talent really deserves appreciation. Right now, he is doing really, really well. You must have seen—in England, he broke the age-group record by scoring the fastest hundred, and in the IPL too, he scored a century in just 34–35 balls. That's not easy. Even big players haven't been able to do that. A 14-year-old kid comes and does it—that's his hard work and dedication.”

Topics mentioned in this article

Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli India Cricket Team Ravi Bishnoi Cricket