Ajit Agarkar breaks silence on Virat and Rohit’s Test retirement calls, urges fans to ‘respect it and move on’

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their Test retirements earlier in May, sending the cricketing world into a frenzy. While concerns around Rohit’s fitness and form in red-ball cricket continued to magnify with each passing series, making sense as to why he retired, Kohli’s Test retirement call shocked all.

With both absent from the Test squad for the away England Tests starting June 20 in Leeds, chief selector Ajit Agarkar spoke on their retirements for the first time since, urging fans to respect it and move on.

Agarkar-led selection panel picked ace batter Shubman Gill as Rohit’s successor in Tests, naming him the new Test captain.

During the presser in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon (May 24), Agarkar revealed it was during April when Virat reached out to him and informed him about wanting to do away with Tests.

"Virat reached out early April and said he wants to finish," Agarkar said during the presser.

"We've seen him give 200% to every ball that he plays, even when he is not batting or he's in the field. He probably felt that he had given everything that he had, and if he can't keep up to the standards that he set for himself over the years and how good he had been, and maybe it was time for him.

"It has come from him. You've got to respect that. They have earned that respect, both of them. As all great players are, the one thing there is, they are true to themselves, and he was in that conversation. So you've got to respect that. We'll obviously miss [Kohli] when you've got a guy who's played 123 Test matches, 30 Test hundreds, it's going to be tough to fill,” he continued.

No talks around Rohit’s retirement talk

Although he shed light on the whole episode surrounding Virat Kohli’s Test retirement, Agarkar shared no details on what prompted former skipper Rohit to call time on his red-ball career.

However, he remained focused on how the younger breed of superstars are ready to take Indian Cricket forward, with the away England series their first assignment without Rohit, Kohli and even Ravichandran Ashwin, who announced his Test retirement after the third Test Down Under in Brisbane.

"When guys like that retire, it's always going to be big holes to fill," Agarkar said.

"Ashwin retired a few months back as well, so those three guys are stalwarts of our cricket. It's always difficult. One way of looking at it is an opportunity for someone else. They've left a legacy behind.

"Needless to say, Rohit has been a leader over the last couple of years since he started leading in the Test matches. It is a new cycle, so it is an opportunity to build something for us as well. That's why I think we've got to show them the respect that they want instead of speculating too many things. It is sometimes a personal call with players , and you've got to respect that, and their performances over the years have shown in the amount of games that they've won for India,” he added.