'Kohli felt he couldn't be up to the standards he has set'

Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar conceded that the void left by the Test retirement of premier cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is tough to fill, but hopes that other players will step up during the upcoming tour of England.

Rohit was the first to announce to retirement from Test cricket on May 7, while his long-time teammate Kohli followed the suit on May 12.

"When guys like that retire, they are stalwarts of cricket...it is always difficult, (their) shoes are very big to fill. But one way of looking at it is, that it's an opportunity for others," Agarkar said in Mumbai on Saturday, during the announcement of India's 16-member squad for next month's five-Test series starting June 20.

Young left-hander Sai Sudharsan and the seasoned Karun Nair have been brought in to replace the two superstars.

Agarkar revealed that Kohli had reached out to him last month expressing his desire to quit Test cricket.

"Virat reached out in early April, and he felt he gad given everything he had. If he felt he could not be up to the standards that he has set, you have got to respect that. Needless to say, Rohit has been leading the team as well," said the chief selector.

There have been intense speculations surrounding the future of both Kohli and Rohit in the traditional format after a series of underwhelming outings

in the last year or so.

The latest instance in that wobbling effort was the tour of Australia for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Kohli started with a bang, making a hundred at Perth but faded away quickly to end the tour at 190 runs from five Tests at an average of 23.

Rohit, who joined the side after the first Test, was equally unimpressive, making just 31 runs from five Tests at an average of 6.2, besides standing down from the fifth and final at Sydney.

So, did the powers that be tried to persuade Kohli and Rohit to stay back for the tour of England, considering the magnitude of the series?

Agarkar was quite blunt in his assessment of the situation, and said building a new side for the upcoming World Test Championship cycle (2025-27) took precedence.

"When somebody takes a call (to retire), it is not up to me. Retirement is a personal call. It's a new WTC (World Test Championship) cycle, and you are looking at all scenarios to help build a team," he said while echoing the sentiments of head coach Gautam Gambhir.

There were speculations that Kohli wanted to travel to England for a farewell series, but Agarkar did not dwell into it, simply saying the decision to move away from Test cricket was entirely made by the star batter.

"When somebody decides, it's not up to us. Our job is to pickup someone. But yes. when somebody finishes...two big cricketers, it will be a hole to fill. Of course, (Mohammad) Shami too is there, as he has done a lot for Indian cricket," he noted.