Ravi Shastri Criticizes BCCI Over Virat Kohli Exit, Sparks New Controversy

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that Virat Kohli’s exit from Test cricket lacked the dignity and recognition it deserved.

According to Shastri, Kohli should have been given a more respectful farewell, and he also suggested that reinstating him as captain after the recent Australia tour would have been the right move.

Kohli stepped away from the game's longest format last month after a glittering career spanning 123 Tests. He scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85 with 30 centuries.

Looking back at Kohli's exit, Shastri was disappointed and said so in a clip posted by SonyLiv on social media. "When you leave, that's when the people understand how huge a player he was. I am sad that he is no more, the way he is no more. I feel it could have been done better, there could have been better communication," he said.

Kohli had declared his retirement mere days before the Indian team was scheduled to be announced for the five-Test home series against England, which would begin on June 20.

Shastri, the then-chief selector who had guided India's record Test series victories in Australia with Kohli as captain, said that he would have appointed the former captain again after India's 1-3 series loss in Australia earlier this year. "If I had anything to do with it, I would have made him captain, straightaway after Australia," he further stated.

In the wake of the exit both of Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the Test scene, the selection panel has entrusted the captaincy mantle to Shubman Gill for the England series.

India's team for the England Test series:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

England's team for the first Test against India:
Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (captain), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.