The retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the red-ball format has been a hot subject among the general public. Regarding the retirement of the two contemporary greats, legendary spin-bowling all-rounder and former teammate Ravichandran Ashwin also expressed his thoughts. The World Cup winner from 2011 discussed the great hitters’ choice.
According to Ashwin, he didn’t think Virat and Rohit would retire simultaneously.
If not for the injury he sustained prior to his planned 2008 debut against South Africa, the 38-year-old off-spinner said Rohit may have achieved the milestone of 100 Test matches. Ashwin seems more shocked by Virat’s decision to retire because he thought the former captain had a few more years to play red-ball cricket.
“These two retiring back-to-back surprised me when I retired in Australia. Did Rohit Sharma has the ancestry necessary to play 100 Test matches? Surely he did. “I think he was unable to play those extra 30 to 40 Test matches because of the time he missed, those 4 to 5 years prior to his debut, because of that injury,” Ashwin stated on his YouTube channel.
A minor query comes to mind in relation to Kohli’s choice. Perhaps he was still a year or two away? Is it because of his energy levels? He might be believing that his mental capacity has diminished. His enthusiasm at mid-wicket or short cover is present in the team even when he is not playing physically,” the cricketer from Tamil Nadu continued.
In Australia, three legends play their last match.
Three of these great players played their final match in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–2025. The first to declare his retirement was Ashwin. At the press conference following the third Test, which took place at the Gabba in Brisbane, he made his announcement and played his final match at the Adelaide Oval.
In what ended up being Virat Kohli’s final Test match, Rohit Sharma played the Boxing Day Test at the MCG in Melbourne and was left out of the starting lineup for the final Test in Sydney. Australia was victorious in the series, winning by a score of 3-1 and reclaiming the BGT crown after a ten-year absence.
