'They Were There When We Lost To New Zealand:' Sunil Gavaskar's Stern Response To Ashwin's Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Claim After India's Whitewash In Ind vs SA Tests

India's transition under head coach Gautam Gambhir has been questioned continuously since their last few Test match failures. Additionally, India's recent defeat to South Africa at home opened a Pandora's box of questions regarding the team selections and, management committee. Many even questioned management's alleged decision to force veterans like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma out of the team.

Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the players who was allegedly forced out of the team. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ashwin claimed that the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should have been kept in the team to help with a smooth transition.

He shared, "There must be a certain pathway for transition. When there is no clarity, it becomes an individualistic decision. Virat could have groomed players. Rohit could have done that. I could have done that. I have always spoken about the importance of knowledge transfer. It has never been our strength."

Veteran player Sunil Gavaskar, however, disagreed with Ashwin's claims and backed the management.

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Sunil Gavaskar Defends The Management

Gavaskar shut down the notion that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could have prevented India's whitewash in the Ind vs SA Test series. He pointed out India's defeat at the hands of New Zealand and shared that if the notion was true, India should have avoided the loss as the duo was present in that series.

While speaking to Aaj Tak, Sunil Gavaskar claimed, "No, the call to take retirements must have been their call. Probably, they might have been asked to consider their future. But we can't say that had they been here, we would have won. They were there when we lost to New Zealand."

He further added, "What happened when they were there? We lost 0-3, no? Then what happened in Australia? We should not be thinking on these lines. No, we can't be thinking about whether we pushed them to retirement. That is the wrong way to approach this."

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Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma To Appear In The ODI Against SA

Both Kohli and Sharma have been called up for India's ODI series against South Africa, scheduled to be held in Ranchi on November 30, 2025. The presence of the two veteran players will likely uplift the team's morale after their humbling defeat to the Proteas in the Test format.