The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly considering cajoling some of the recently retired men’s cricketers to reconsider representing the country in the longest format.
According
to Cricbuzz, ‘the idea has begun to circulate’ to approach Virat Kohli to reconsider his retirement. The report also claimed that one recently retired player could be ‘open to a rethink’ about his Test future.
The development comes hot on the heels of India’s 2-0 home series whitewash against South Africa. Head coach Gautam Gambhir blamed it on ‘transition’, citing the inexperience across the squad.
Since his takeover last year, Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin have called time on their Test careers. In the previous, Rahul Dravid-led regime, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane fell out of favor.
India’s batting is now among the least experienced in world cricket, while spin-favoring pitches haven’t helped their development. Rohit and Kohli retired from Tests in May this year after reportedly seeing their diminished role in the team, but were themselves struggling in the format, especially at home.
Pujara and Rahane were backed for years even as their performances dwindled. But the team failed to replace them with players capable of playing spin and dominating in home conditions.
Meanwhile, Ashwin, the greatest spinner the country has seen since Anil Kumble, retired in December 2024 after being left out of the team’s 11 in a Test in Australia.
Ajit Agarkar, scouts converge in Ahmedabad
Meanwhile, the report added that the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, has been in Ahmedabad since November 26, overseeing Group D fixtures of the national T20 championship, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The selectors are under renewed scrutiny over the Test losses, too.
The Agarkar-led panel, and Gambhir in extension, has often been criticised for lacking domestic insight, leaning on white-ball performances to pick red-ball players, and favouring all-rounders over specialists.
The report said it wasn’t clear whether Agarkar’s current domestic assignment is connected to any BCCI directive after the Test losses, but he has been a regular at the venue in recent days. Other selectors are also on duty: Pragyan Ojha will travel with the ODI squad to South Africa, while SS Das, RP Singh, and Ajay Ratra are monitoring SMAT games across their respective zones.
The SMAT has also drawn several IPL scouts ahead of the December 16 auction, with John Wright, Varun Aaron, Parthiv Patel, Kiran More, and Vijay Bharadwaj among those tracking players in Ahmedabad.
