"You are not practicing at all" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from Tests and playing ODIs

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma shouldn't have retired from Tests. He pointed out that playing only ODI cricket won't allow the duo to play or practice much.

Kohli and Rohit retired from T20Is after India's victorious run in the 2024 T20 World Cup. They subsequently called it quits from Tests before the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener reckoned that Kohli and Rohit might have been better off retiring from ODIs than Tests.

"The truth is that they have said goodbye to the wrong format. They had left T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup, but the story might have been different had they continued to play Tests and said goodbye to ODIs. India played only six ODIs in 12 months before the Champions Trophy," Chopra said (0:20).

"There is a possibility that you might play only six Tests in a year, but even if it's only six Tests, it's 30 days of cricket. If only six ODIs are played, it's just six days of cricket over a period of time. It will be more than 100 days from your last IPL match to the next ODI you will play. You are not playing at all. You are not practicing at all," he added.

Aakash Chopra wondered how Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would keep themselves ready and motivated. He pointed out that the ace batters are unlikely to play first-class cricket either, highlighting that they don't need to do so as they have retired from the longest format.

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"Gaps are just incredibly huge" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma playing only ODIs

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma won two ICC events in the last two years. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that it would be difficult for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to stay in touch if they play only ODIs.

"A three-match series gets over in seven to eight days. Then the next one would be after three months. Gaps are just incredibly huge, and you won't play first-class cricket in between. It's true that had they continued playing Test cricket and left ODIs, staying in the groove would have been a lot easier," he explained.

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that, barring the Indian Premier League, the duo would be out of action for long periods.

"When you have retired from Tests, and ODI cricket isn't played much, it's not going to make a lot of sense. So just two months of high-intensity IPL, where you would get to play 14 to 16 innings, and then you would play three matches after six months, and then three matches after another three months. I think it is very, very difficult," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra opined that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should have continued to play Tests, highlighting that the 2027 ODI World Cup is still far away, with their places in the team not guaranteed. However, he added that Kohli and Rohit's selection in India's ODI side shouldn't depend on their performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, as has been suggested in certain reports.