Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary reckons the veteran duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma haven’t been treated in the right way and the pair can announce their retirement after the three-match ODI series against Australia. Rohit has been removed from the ODI captaincy with Shubman Gill appointed as a new leader.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Rohit and Virat are non-committal regarding their participation for the 2027 ODI World Cup. While Rohit Sharma has amassed 11,168 runs in 273 ODI matches at an impressive average of 48.77, Kohli has aggregated 14,181 runs in 302 ODI games at a stunning average of 57.88; thus, their records speak for themselves.
Manoj Tiwary said in an interview with CricTracker, “After the kind of contribution both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made for Indian cricket, if they’re being treated like this, it’s nothing short of disrespectful. I genuinely feel that very soon, both of them might decide to announce retirement, possibly after the Australia series.”
Tiwary questioned the selectors’ decision to remove Rohit Sharma from ODI captaincy.
He added, “When you appoint someone as captain, the goal is to win matches and series. Rohit Sharma was already doing that consistently. The team’s performance was solid, the results were coming, so what was the need for this change?”
On the other hand, Tiwary added that Virat Kohli decided to retire from Test cricket after he was not respected by the selectors and the team management.
“When a player, no matter how big he is, starts feeling that he’s not needed or respected, a player with self-respect and dignity will never continue. That’s exactly why Virat quietly stepped away from Test cricket, not out of frustration, but out of self-respect,” said Tiwary (via the aforementioned source).
Kohli and Rohit will be seen in action in a three-match ODI series against Australia.
