Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - India's premier batters - announced retirement from the Test format in the space of five days, leaving a massive void in the batting line-up. The unit is ready to start a brand new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle after a disappointing end in the previous one, which also marked the first time the team failed to qualify for the final since the inception of the tournament.
India at one stage were well on course towards registering a third straight WTC final qualification but a shocking whitewash against New Zealand at home deflated India's hopes, and it was eventually crushed after the 3-1 loss at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Down Under.
Rohit was part of both the series but chose to skip the first and the final match of the second one. Jasprit Bumrah led the team and guided India to their solitary win in the first one, while Rohit sat out of the final match due to his underwhelming show on Australian soil. The skipper managed just 31 runs in five innings, finishing the series at an average of just above 6.
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Ravi Shastri while speaking on ICC Review addressed the retirements of both batters. He revealed that he had a chat with Rohit during one of the IPL matches about the latter choosing to drop himself from the Sydney Test.
"I saw Rohit a lot at the toss. At the toss, you don't get enough time to speak. Though I did put my hand on his shoulder in one of the games. I think it was in Mumbai, and I told him, if I was the coach you would have never not played that last Test match. You would have played that last Test match because the series wasn't over. And I'm not someone who threw in the towel with the scoreline 2-1. If your mindset is you feel you are… that's not the stage, you leave a team," said Shastri.
Speaking further, Shastri mentioned that the surface in Sydney was difficult to bat and even a counterpunch knock of 30-40 runs by the Indian skipper could have made a difference.
"That was a 30-40 run game. And that's exactly what I told him. The pitch was so spicy in Sydney. Whatever kind of form he was in, he's a match-winner. If he had gone, sensed the situation, sensed the condition and smashed it for even 35-40 at the top, you never know. That series would have been level. But that's each one to his own. Other people have different styles. This would have been my style, and I let him know it. It's sitting in my heart for a long time. I had to get it out. And I told him that," Shastri said.
Shastri had previously disclosed of having a conversation with Virat Kohli before the talisman announced his retirement from the format.
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