Manoj Tiwary, a former Indian and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman, is of the opinion that the popular duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli might contemplate the thought of retiring the international cricket in the coming Australian tour. Before the final England tour, both the veterans declared their retirement in T20I and Test formats.
Rohit Sharma was appallingly stripped of his ODI captaincy and substituted by Shubman Gill in the upcoming three-match series in Australia. The chief selector, Ajit Agarkar was not certain that Kohli and Rohit would play in World Cup 2027 ODI.
In an interview with CricTracker, Tiwary spoke of the recent developments regarding Rohit and Kohli and said:
“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.”
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?”
Manoj Tiwary
The champions trophy in the United Arab Emirates was the latest match that India won under the leadership of Rohit. When it comes to India, as its ODI captain, he has won 42 matches out of the 56 which makes him outstanding with 75 winning percentage.
“A Player with Dignity Will Never Continue” – Manoj Tiwary on Kohli’s Decision to Retire from Tests
According to Manoj Tiwary, Virat Kohli had been insulted by the prevailing team management, and that is why he declared his retirement of Tests matches at the start of this year. The 36 year old showed pathetically in the red-ball cricket in the season 20242025 with an average of 22.47 in 10 matches.
However, Kohli was one of the most successful Test hitters in India who had 9,230 run in 123 matches with the average of nearly 47 and 30 hundreds.
“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).
He continued:
“And if things continue the same way, I honestly think there’s a possibility that Rohit might also take that step in the future, not because he wants to, but because no great player should be made to stay where he feels disrespected.”
Manoj Tiwary
Virat Kohli was also one of India’s best Test captains, leading the team to 40 wins in 68 games, including their first Test series victory in Australia in 2018/19.
