Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket within a gap of five days in May this year, leaving a big void in the Indian team ahead of the recently held England tour that marked the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

The sudden retirements raised questions among fans and experts, given that both stalwarts had given hints to continue in Test cricket. Kohli had returned to play Ranji Trophy for Delhi and expressed intentions to score multiple centuries in England, while Rohit had discussed his anticipation for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in conversations with Michael Clarke during the IPL break.

Now, former Indian cricketer Karsan Ghavri has claimed that internal politics within the BCCI and the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar forced the star batters to retire prematurely, despite their willingness to continue playing the longest format.

"He [Kohli] should have definitely continued playing for India easily, probably for another couple of years. But something really forced him to retire. And unfortunately, when he retired, he was not even given a farewell by the BCCI," Ghavri said on the Vickey Lalwani Show.

“Such players, such a great player who has done such great service to BCCI, India cricket and Indian fans, should be given a grand and fabulous farewell."

Virat Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011, played an instrumental role in India's red-ball resurgence over the past decade with his aggressive captaincy, prolific batting and unmatched intensity on the field.

Kohli led his country in 68 Test matches and suffered defeat in only 17 of them. With 40 wins and 11 draws, he boasts a remarkable win percentage of 58.82, making him the most successful Test captain in India's history.

Kohli ended his Test career with 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with the highest score of 254.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma’s Test journey began with an impressive 177 against West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2013. Between 2013-18, he featured in 27 Tests, scoring 1,585 runs at an average of 39.63 with three centuries and 10 fifties.

After an underwhelming start, Sharma revived his Test career as an opener with two centuries against South Africa at Vizag in 2019. He finished his Test career with 4,301 runs coming from 67 matches at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties. He led India in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing nine games.

"It's due to internal politics within the BCCI, which is hard to understand. And I think this is the reason he retired prematurely. Even Rohit Sharma retired prematurely. They were asked to go out. It's not like they wanted to leave. They wanted to continue. But the selectors and BCCI had different ideas. It was a matter of some kind of petty politics," Ghavri remarked.