During India’s recent Test series against England, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla addressed the rumours around the unexpected Test retirements of two of the country’s modern-day greats, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Speaking after the Indian men’s and women’s teams met King Charles III at St. James’s Palace in London on Tuesday, Shukla stated that both batters’ decision to leave red-ball cricket was purely personal.
Rohit and Virat declared their Test retirements less than a month before the five-match series against England. Following a poor 2024-25 season in which India lost 3-0 at home to New Zealand and then lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, many attacked the Test system. However, Shukla refuted such assertions.
“They’ve retired themselves. We will always miss them; they are both excellent batters, and it is fortunate for us that they are available for ODIs,” he remarked.
Despite their retirement from Test cricket, Shukla said that Rohit and Virat will continue to play ODIs and focus on future competitions such as the 2027 World Cup. Meanwhile, young skipper Shubman Gill has taken over leadership responsibilities in red-ball cricket. India made history with their first Test win at Edgbaston under his captaincy, prompting speculation about a change in ODI captaincy as well. Shukla, however, elected not to comment on the leadership situation.
It was a very historic occasion meeting King Charles: Rajeev Shukla
While India’s Test players met King Charles III and Shukla, who was also present at the palace, Shukla described the event as historic. The King interacted with the cricketers, asking questions about recent matches and even about pacer Akash Deep’s sister’s battle with cancer.
“It was a very historic occasion that both our men’s and women’s teams were invited today by King Charles and met them very well in the Palace. Players are very happy because he asked all personal details of each player. He asked Saikia ji (BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia) and me about whether Arun Jaitley is my friend, what happened to him, and when I told him that he had died, he asked me to pay condolences to his family.
He also asked about Akash Deep’s sister’s illness. He had found out so many details. He sounded like a gentleman, and it did not seem we were talking to the King of England. There is a lot of humility in him and team is very happy to meet him,” he added
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