Vice-President Rajeev Shukla of the BCCI addressed the rumours surrounding the abrupt Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two of India’s contemporary greats, during the country’s current Test series against England. Shukla said that both hitters’ decisions to leave red-ball cricket were completely personal following Tuesday’s match between the Indian men’s and women’s teams and King Charles III at St. James’s Palace in London.
Only one month before the five-match series against England, Rohit and Virat made their Test retirement announcements. Many attacked the Test setup following India’s poor 2024–25 season, which saw them lose to New Zealand 3-0 at home and then lose the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Rajeev Shukla, however, rejected such assertions.
“They are themselves retired. They are both excellent batters, and we are fortunate that they are available for ODIs, but we will always miss them,” he remarked.
Rajeev Shukla stated that both Rohit and Virat are still part of the ODI scheme of things and would concentrate on upcoming competitions such as the 2027 World Cup, even if they have retired from Test cricket. In the meantime, red-ball cricket leadership responsibilities have been assumed by youthful skipper Shubman Gill. With their first-ever Test victory at Edgbaston under his leadership, India made history and sparked speculation about a potential change in ODI captaincy as well. Shukla, however, declined to address the leadership matter.
Meeting King Charles was a momentous occasion: Rajeev Shukla
Rajeev Shukla, who was also at the palace when India’s Test players visited King Charles III, called the encounter historic. In his interactions with the cricket players, the King enquired about previous games and even the cancer battle of pacer Akash Deep’s sister.
“Today’s invitation from King Charles to both our men’s and women’s teams and their excellent reception in the Palace was a truly historic event. Because he enquired about every player’s personal information, the players are overjoyed.
He asked me and Saikia ji (BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia) if I was friends with Arun Jaitley, what had happened to him, and when I informed him that he had passed away, he requested me to offer his family my sympathies. He also enquired about the condition of Akash Deep’s sister. He had learnt a great deal. It didn’t sound like we were speaking to the King of England, and he spoke like a gentleman. He is really humble, and the crew is delighted to have met him,” he continued.
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