There are still unanswered questions about how and why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket about a year ago. Many fans continue to think that they might not have made the decision on their own, citing potential pressure from the team management or selectors.
After a protracted decline in red-ball form that culminated in India’s 1-3 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, their exits came. On May 7, Rohit declared his retirement; five days later, Kohli did the same.
Coach Gautam Gambhir may have been a factor in senior players’ resignations, according to Ravichandran Ashwin, who had abruptly retired during the Border-Gavaskar series.
Speaking at the RevSportz Conclave “Trailblazers,” Ashwin stated that although any such choice may inevitably lead to disappointment, it was also a coach’s duty to make future plans. He said that he, like with Kohli and Rohit, didn’t think he would fit into Gambhir’s long-term plans.
”If somebody has to have angst against Gautam, it’s me, right? I come out on his second or third tour as coach…” Ashwin said when asked to rate Gambhir.
”Gautam, the coach, has a job to do for me in many ways, and even if he thought that I must move on or Virat must move on or Rohit must move on, it’s okay; it’s fine because he has a job to do. And at that particular instance, if I felt bitter about it, that’s also okay because it’s my emotion. But if you detach yourself from that, it’s clear to me that he has a job to do, and maybe I do not have a future in his regime.”
Ashwin also talked about his own retirement, which came during the same series and had caused controversy. He claimed the indications were obvious after being left out of the first Test in Perth and then dumped once more despite a brief comeback.
He clarified that he realized his time in the squad was coming to an end due to frequent changes in selection and that it was preferable to leave rather than wait for another chance.
”One of my strongest assets, I feel, is my ability to make decisions. Whether it’s right or wrong is for people to debate. But at the end of the day, it’s my life. I need to do it on my terms.”
”The moment, I think, at Perth, when we had Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) and myself as the lead spinners in the side, and Washy (Washington Sundar) played that game in Perth, and then the next game, again, I came in, and then I had to again make way, was kind of suggestive or indicative to me that my time was up.
”And if somebody else had to come and take up that place, by all means, they need their space and time. And I’m not one of those guys who will hang around, you know, wanting to see if I can make a comeback. I’ve had far too many. I’ve come far, far too much in my life to be able to, you know, dilly-dally around with all those things,” Ashwin said.
Thinking back on his mindset, he said that any sportsperson must let go of their ego, particularly in a nation where achievement frequently breeds a sense of invincibility.
”I have always wanted to shed ego as the first thing in my life, and I’m still in the process of shedding ego. We all are human beings. It comes to us. But if you detach yourself, things do make sense.
”Sometimes, because of the adulation we get in this country, we do end up thinking that we are invincible, which is not the case.”
