"No one has the right" - Gautam Gambhir's massive statement on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's Test retirement amid IPL 2025
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's decision to retire from Test cricket ahead of the England tour should be unanimously respected. The veterans chose to end their red-ball careers at a critical time of the transition, forcing the think tank to come up with solutions for the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had largely struggled in their last Test tour in Australia during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series. The skipper had dropped himself from the final Test in Sydney after accumulating only 31 runs in the previous three matches. Kohli, on the other hand, was constantly troubled by the Australian pacers after his century in the series opener in Perth.
There were reports claiming that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) requested Virat Kohli to reconsider his decision, and several influential figures within Indian cricket were asked to talk to the former skipper. Ultimately, Kohli did not stray from his initial decision, and announced his retirement through a social media post on May 12.
Gautam Gambhir asserted that retirement is a completely individual decision, and it should not have any sort of influence in any way whatsoever.
"I think, when you start the game and when you want to finish, it’s a very individual decision. No one has the right. Be it the coach, the selector, be it anyone in this country has any right to tell someone when to retire and when not to retire. So it comes from within," Gambhir told CNN News 18.
Following the departures of the two stalwarts, Team India are in the search of a new red-ball captain as well as a talisman in the middle-order. According to reports. Shubman Gill is likely to be the new skipper amid workload concerns over Jasprit Bumrah.
"It’s the opportunity for some other people to put their hand up" - Gautam Gambhir on Team India's red-ball future after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
The majority felt that Team India needed the valuable experience of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in testing English conditions for the crucial series that could set the tone for the WTC cycle.
Gambhir, however, feels that in their absence, it is an opportunity for an emerging player to take on that responsibility.
"We’ve got to be without two senior players to really experience players. And sometimes I believe that it’s the opportunity for some other people to put their hand up and say, Okay, I’m ready for it. So yes, it will be tough, but then there’ll be people putting their hand up for sure because this question was asked to me before. Champions Trophy as well," Gambhir said.
"When Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t there and I said exactly the same thing, someone missing out might give another person an opportunity to do something special for the country, hopefully, there’ll be other guys waiting for that opportunity," he added.
Team India's tour of England is scheduled to begin from June 20 onwards, with the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. The selection committee are expected to name the squad for the five-match affair soon.