Great Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has jumped into the discussion as to why Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin suddenly retired early from Test cricket during Gautam Gambhir’s regime.
The debate resurfaced after India’s Test sweep against South Africa at home and Sunil Gavaskar once again defended Gautam Gambhir.
After India suffered a massive 408-run defeat in the second Test in Guwahati and lost the Test series 0-2 to South Africa, Ravichandran Ashwin claimed that he, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were unsure about their future in the Test team and that is why they took the tough decision.
Ravichandran Ashwin blames Gautam Gambhir for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s Test retirement
This led many fans to believe that the Indian cricket team management did not provide clear communication to the senior players, which pushed them towards retirement. Some also argued that India’s elimination against South Africa could have been different had they still been playing.
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“There has to be a certain path for change. When there is no clarity, it becomes an individualistic decision. Virat could have groomed players. Rohit could have done that. I could have done that. I have always talked about the importance of knowledge transfer. That has never been our strength,” Ravichandran Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
However, Sunil Gavaskar does not agree with Ashwin’s words. The former Indian captain believes that retirement was a completely personal decision taken by Rohit, Kohli and Ashwin and the management should not be blamed for it.
Sunil Gavaskar criticized the allegations and counter-allegations of Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement.
Legendary batsman and renowned broadcaster Sunil Gavaskar also pointed out that even when Ashwin, Kohli and Rohit were active, the Indian team was defeated by New Zealand at home and then they also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Sunil Gavaskar said on Aaj Tak, “No, the call to retire must have been his. Perhaps, he must have been asked to consider his future. But we cannot say that if he had been here, we would have won. When we lost to New Zealand, he was there.”
Gavaskar further said, “What happened when he was there? We lost 0-3, no? Then what happened in Australia? We should not think like that. No, we cannot think about whether we had pushed him towards retirement. That is the wrong way to approach it.”
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All eyes are on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli as India prepares against South Africa.
Notably, Ashwin retired from Test cricket midway through the Australia tour, while Rohit and Virat bid farewell to their Test careers ahead of the England tour earlier this year. However, Ashwin retired from all formats of the game including the IPL a few months ago.
On the other hand, Rohit and Kohli are currently preparing for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa starting from November 30 in Ranchi.
He was last seen in action on the Australia tour and will now aim to continue his form against South Africa.
The first ODI will be held on November 30 at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi, the second ODI will be held on December 3 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur and the third and final ODI will be held on December 6 at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.