Rohit-Sharma's-Dhoni-Style-Test-Retirement-Bid-Rejected-by-BCCIReport (1)Rohit & Kohli's Shock Test Exits: India's Leadership Crisis Deepens

 

Indian cricket has been grappling with a critical void in its Test arrangement after either Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli made the sudden, unannounced withdrawals from the longest version of the game in recent times.

While the timing of such decisions, just weeks out from a crucial five-Test series against England, was questioned, a new report has made it clear what could have been the reason behind Rohit Sharma's sudden walk-off: a request denied to retire in the unique style of his erstwhile captain, MS Dhoni.

 

Rohit Sharma Sought Dhoni-esque Test Exit; BCCI Refused Captaincy Terms

 

Rohit Sharma is reported to have told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview that he had wanted to follow MS Dhoni's legendary mid-series 2014 retirement, when India toured Australia. Dhoni's voluntary retirement from Test cricket on his own terms, midway in the troubled overseas series, made a lasting impact on world cricket.

According to reports, Rohit had wanted to travel to England, take the Indian team through the early matches, and then retire during the series.

Despite this, the board rejected this great idea, sources at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) say. The board, sources say, was interested in having continuity of leadership in the challenging five-Test series against England that starts the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle for India. Granting Rohit a place in the team, the selectors stated he would not be captain for the entire series.

Believing his conditions weren't being met and not wanting to compromise on anything less in his Test career swansong, Rohit Sharma apparently made the sudden decision to retire from Test cricket prior to the series.

Sharma was offered the choice of traveling to the series by the selectors but not as captain; they wanted consistency across the series. The Sky Sports report indicated he opted to retire instead. The May 7 decision shocked the cricket world.

 

Kohli's Test Exit Deepens India's Leadership Crisis

 

Five days later, Virat Kohli also confirmed his Test retirement, joining the shockwaves of Rohit's retirement. The ongoing exodus of the two legends, who have contributed to modern Indian cricket in their batting and leadership potential, has created a record leadership void in the Indian Test side.

Following India's T20 World Cup victory in June 2024, the two players had already retired from T20Is last year and will now be playing for India alone in ODIs.

Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel has the gruesome job of choosing the next Test captain with the England series nearing. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are said to be in the running, with Jasprit Bumrah apparently ruling himself out on grounds of workload management.

The committee shortlisting still remains divided, though. Gill and Pant have had unofficial discussions to decide if they are ready to be captains.

 

BCCI Nears Captaincy Decision Amidst Gill-Pant Deliberations

 

Since his place in the playing XI cannot be taken for granted, one of the selectors has reportedly been in two minds about appointing Gill the captain, thus hinting that he would be better suited for vice-captaincy first.

Rishabh Pant, however, has the recent captaincy experience of leading Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the current IPL, which former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar finds to be a perfect ground for trying out future captains of the country.

Citing the leadership traits shown by Gill, Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, Gavaskar underlined in a recent remark the significance of the IPL in developing the next captains.

The cricketing world currently excitedly waits for the BCCI's official announcement of the England series roster, due on May 23, and, more significantly, the name of the new captain who will take India into a new era of Test cricket.