MUMBAI: Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar has termed superstar bat Virat Kohli 's Test retirement as a "big blow" before India's upcoming tour of England, which comprises a five-Test series beginning at Leeds from June 2.
"It's a big blow before India's tour of England. We will miss the experience and class of both Virat and Rohit (Sharma) in England. The sumtenous retirement of both is not advisable/ideal. However, the other point of view is that those who have done well in domestic cricket and India A matches will get an opportunity to showcase their talent and perform well in the Test series. It's a good chance for any cricketer to do well in England in Test match cricket," Vengsarkar told TOI.
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Kohli's fans will have the regret that he retired with 9230 runs in 123 Tests under his belt, and couldn't cross the 10,000-run landmark in Test cricket. "I think that we Indians are obsessed with statistics and milestones. Statistics don't reveal the entire picture. You must see the impact of an innings or a bowling performance. Your performance/impact with the bat or ball is what matters in the end. It's about how your performance helps the team win the match. And Virat Kohli has been absolutely outstanding in this regard. He has been a match-winner in all formats of the game. And this is what counts, and should always cou ntin cricket.”
“It's the same with Rohit Sharma . You can't judge them by statistics. I mean, Virat and Rohit played at the top level for close to two decades! it reflects their level of fitness, mental fortitude, attitude, everything. What I noticed and admired about Rohit and Virat is that they took their team home, stayed in the middle till their team win the game. When the big games, big events arrived, they always delivered.
Does India have the bench strength to replace them? "See, when Virat and Rohit started out, they were just talented youngsters. They became Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma later in their careers. There's no question about it that it's a big void, but I'm sure that we've got a lot of talent in India and I would say that the youngsters should just grab his opportunity (to seal their place in the side," Venhsarkar felt.
Commenting on Kohli's decision to retire from Test cricket, India's 1983 World Cup hero Sandeep Patil told this paper, "It's an individual decision of Virat to retire, and we must accept it and respect it. I mean who are we to say that he should continue. Yeh toh hona hi tha ek na ek din (this was bound to happen one day). Actually, he had become a kind of a brand, so nonone wanted him to retire. As I said, it's his decision, and we should respect it. He must have thought about it for a long time. He's not someone who makes a decision in haste. However, it will be a big challenge for the national selectors to fill Virat and Rohit Sharma's big shoes in Tests."
It was in Patil's tenure as India's chief selector from 2012-16 that Kohli became India's Test captain, during India's tour of Australia in 2014-15. "I am fortunate the to see him, work with him as chief selector. I had a wonderful time with both Virat and MS Dhoni as the Indian captains. Both were different characters, but both were brilliant. There were no fights, no arguments with both, who had contrasting personalities-ek aag ka shola (Virat, firebrand), aur ek barf ka gola (Dhoni, captain cool).
"I wish him all the luck during his retirement time and his his next venture," Patil concluded.
Patil felt that Indian cricket will be able to fins the ideal replacements to fill the big shoes of Kohli and Rohit, just like it was able to do it during his time as the chief selector, when greats of the game like Sachin Tendulkar , Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan exited the scene.
Talking about the impact of both Rohit and Virat's simultaneous Test retirements on Team Indi, Patil said, "The two stalwarts, the two pillars of Indian cricket have gone. We have to rebuild Indian cricket now. I am sure we wil find a solution. During our tenture in the selction committee, we dropped five-six (big) players, but the new players who took their places did very well."
"If you look at the history of cricket, it's replete with such examples of a team rebuilding from scratch after some great players took retirement. Ek jaata hai, toh doosrs khada hai (If one players exit the scene, the next one is ready). Yes, it wil not be easy for anyone to fill in the boots of these great players, but it gives a chance for a new player to stand up and seal his place in the side.
"What a service Virat and Rohit have given to the Indian and world cricket. I salute both of them. I have tremendous respect for Rohit, virat and MS
Dhoni," Patil concluded.
"It's a big blow before India's tour of England. We will miss the experience and class of both Virat and Rohit (Sharma) in England. The sumtenous retirement of both is not advisable/ideal. However, the other point of view is that those who have done well in domestic cricket and India A matches will get an opportunity to showcase their talent and perform well in the Test series. It's a good chance for any cricketer to do well in England in Test match cricket," Vengsarkar told TOI.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Kohli's fans will have the regret that he retired with 9230 runs in 123 Tests under his belt, and couldn't cross the 10,000-run landmark in Test cricket. "I think that we Indians are obsessed with statistics and milestones. Statistics don't reveal the entire picture. You must see the impact of an innings or a bowling performance. Your performance/impact with the bat or ball is what matters in the end. It's about how your performance helps the team win the match. And Virat Kohli has been absolutely outstanding in this regard. He has been a match-winner in all formats of the game. And this is what counts, and should always cou ntin cricket.”
“It's the same with Rohit Sharma . You can't judge them by statistics. I mean, Virat and Rohit played at the top level for close to two decades! it reflects their level of fitness, mental fortitude, attitude, everything. What I noticed and admired about Rohit and Virat is that they took their team home, stayed in the middle till their team win the game. When the big games, big events arrived, they always delivered.
Does India have the bench strength to replace them? "See, when Virat and Rohit started out, they were just talented youngsters. They became Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma later in their careers. There's no question about it that it's a big void, but I'm sure that we've got a lot of talent in India and I would say that the youngsters should just grab his opportunity (to seal their place in the side," Venhsarkar felt.
Commenting on Kohli's decision to retire from Test cricket, India's 1983 World Cup hero Sandeep Patil told this paper, "It's an individual decision of Virat to retire, and we must accept it and respect it. I mean who are we to say that he should continue. Yeh toh hona hi tha ek na ek din (this was bound to happen one day). Actually, he had become a kind of a brand, so nonone wanted him to retire. As I said, it's his decision, and we should respect it. He must have thought about it for a long time. He's not someone who makes a decision in haste. However, it will be a big challenge for the national selectors to fill Virat and Rohit Sharma's big shoes in Tests."
It was in Patil's tenure as India's chief selector from 2012-16 that Kohli became India's Test captain, during India's tour of Australia in 2014-15. "I am fortunate the to see him, work with him as chief selector. I had a wonderful time with both Virat and MS Dhoni as the Indian captains. Both were different characters, but both were brilliant. There were no fights, no arguments with both, who had contrasting personalities-ek aag ka shola (Virat, firebrand), aur ek barf ka gola (Dhoni, captain cool).
"I wish him all the luck during his retirement time and his his next venture," Patil concluded.
Patil felt that Indian cricket will be able to fins the ideal replacements to fill the big shoes of Kohli and Rohit, just like it was able to do it during his time as the chief selector, when greats of the game like Sachin Tendulkar , Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan exited the scene.
Talking about the impact of both Rohit and Virat's simultaneous Test retirements on Team Indi, Patil said, "The two stalwarts, the two pillars of Indian cricket have gone. We have to rebuild Indian cricket now. I am sure we wil find a solution. During our tenture in the selction committee, we dropped five-six (big) players, but the new players who took their places did very well."
"If you look at the history of cricket, it's replete with such examples of a team rebuilding from scratch after some great players took retirement. Ek jaata hai, toh doosrs khada hai (If one players exit the scene, the next one is ready). Yes, it wil not be easy for anyone to fill in the boots of these great players, but it gives a chance for a new player to stand up and seal his place in the side.
"What a service Virat and Rohit have given to the Indian and world cricket. I salute both of them. I have tremendous respect for Rohit, virat and MS
Dhoni," Patil concluded.
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