‘When you start asking these questions…’: Gavaskar claims Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma would have ‘played in England if…’
Sunil Gavaskar weighed in on the elements that might have caused Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to retire from Test cricket.
Virat Kohli called time on his Test career after a 13-year-stint full of remarkable innings and game-changing contributions. Nevertheless, he leaves some accolades on the tables, falling 670 runs short of the hallowed 10,000-run mark in Test cricket.
Kohli would have been the fourth Indian batter to join that hallowed group, one which was initiated by Sunil Gavaskar. The Indian legend commented on Kohli’s retirement, attempting to provide a window into what might have been going through Kohli’s mind as he made the decision to take a step back.
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“Questions were asked of a lot of players after the Australia tour, not just 1-2 players but everyone involved, in bowling or batting,” said Gavaskar on Sports Tak. “After winning the first Test, everyone thought India will be successful in Australia for a third consecutive time. This didn’t happen, so of course questions were asked.”
Gavaskar went on to explain how athletes tend to enter a frame of mind to ask themselves those questions in tough situations, with an element of self-doubt entering the picture.
“And sometimes you ask yourselves those questions, do I still have that ability, am I finding satisfaction in this. When you start asking these questions, you start telling yourself that if I remove myself, it will be better. To quash those thoughts is difficult,” explained the Indian batting legend.
‘Wanted them to keep playing’: Gavaskar on Ro-Ko retirements
Kohli retires right on the heels of Rohit Sharma’s own decision to step down from Test cricket, marking an end to a very successful era of Test cricket in India, forefronted by this pair. With Rohit now 38 years old and Kohli celebrating his 37th birthday later this year, Gavaskar explained that stamina and willingness to be embedded in an extended tour also played a part.
“All of us in Indian cricket wanted them to keep playing,” Gavaskar said of the pair. “If you have to make a decision, they are the only ones who can do it. Maybe they decided that if this were a 3-match series, it would have been a different story. But maybe this being 5 Test matches across 6 weeks, there’s no break, maybe that’s why they did it.”
India’s tour of England begins on June 20, with the BCCI selection panel expected to announce the squad and the choice for captain in the coming two weeks.
