'Easy to say they are old’: Ashwin slams BCCI for poor communication and insensitive handling of Rohit, Kohli

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. (AFP Image)

Former India spinner R Ashwin called out BCCI for their poor handling of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's ODI saga, questioning the board's lack of communication and sensitivity. Amid the ongoing drama, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that currently they are not looking at the 2027 World Cup, and Ashwin asked why the management did not tell Kohli and Rohit the roadmap for the upcoming World Cup after they retired from T20Is post the 2024 World Cup triumph.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Ashwin suggested that players need to be handled better when they are near the end of their careers.

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"On one side is selection, on the other side is Kohli and Rohit. These are two sides of the same coin. Upon examining the selection, it is clear that the selectors are moving forward. However, in this process, they have two players who are nearing the end of their careers. However, one thing I would like to mention is that you need to improve the way you handle such players. It is very easy to say that they have grown old and they should retire. One of the reasons we feel this way is that we see many young players in the IPL performing well, and we believe they can replace these experienced players. However, during this process, one thing we often overlook is solid communication and knowledge transfer. I request that this be addressed in the future," he said.

He did not slam the decision to make Shubman Gill captain in place of Rohit Sharma but questioned the roadmap the management is following which in his opinion is not there.

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"Knowledge transfer, or KT, doesn't mean Kohli and Rohit will be teaching Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma new shots; rather, it will show them how to handle pressure situations and deal with injuries. The way Kohli and Rohit batted in the 2023 ODI World Cup, they have nothing to prove, but does the KT have any space? There is actually no space for KT in Indian cricket because there is no transition phase. Rahul Dravid was a coach at one time, then Gautam Gambhir took over. We did not have any template that, after Dravid, Gambhir would be the coach, so taking a KT from Dravid was not possible. And after Gambhir, for whom will the KT go? If there is no roadmap from the management side, this cannot happen from the players' side."

He concluded by justifying how much the duo had given to Indian cricket and they deserved better communication following their involvement in the team ahead of the World Cup.

"Given the magnitude of their contribution to Indian cricket, there was a need for communication, not only to them, but also to everyone, explaining how we communicated and what it entails. There are still two years until the World Cup, and if they do make it, I will take my hat off to both of them, because that would require immense commitment, as they won't get much cricket beyond the IPL. For them to achieve it, they need that opportunity, and they have deserved that respect. So that sensitivity was required."