Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have announced their retirement from the longer format of the game in the space of a week, just ahead of the marquee England series. With both the veterans exiting in a short space of time, it creates an experience void on the side. However, the form of both players has been on the downward curve for a while in red-ball format, and the series against New Zealand (at home) and Australia (away) have seen some unpleasant results.
’s father, Yograj, though, believes that both of them still have something to offer. “Virat is a big player, so it will obviously be a loss. When many players were either removed, retired, or coerced into retirement in 2011, the team fell apart and has still not stood back up. But everyone’s time comes. I feel a lot of cricket is still left in Virat and Rohit,” Yograj told ANI.
“I told Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) that it was not the right move when he was retiring. One should walk away from the field when one can no longer walk,” he added. “If you form a team full of youngsters, it will always fall apart.”
“Maybe Virat feels that he has nothing more left to achieve. I think needed just one person to motivate him daily, for example, to go for a run at 5 AM,” he added. “Rohit and are two people who retired too early… The greatest players should play till 50 years of age… I am sad about their retirement as no one is left to motivate the youngsters now.”
“It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life,” Kohli wrote on his Instagram handle. Meanwhile, Rohit wrote, “Hello, everyone. I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format.”
