England Celebrate Its Players When They Retire, India Fall Short In This Regard: Panesar

England celebrate its players when they retire, India fall short in this regard: Panesar (Image Source: IANS)

World Test Championship: Former England spinner Monty Panesar has opined that BCCI should have planned a farewell Test for batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and off-spin great Ravichandran Ashwin, stating that the trio deserved a much better ending for their contributions to the game.

Panesar said India had fallen short in honouring its retiring greats, drawing parallels with England's approach to player recognition. He stated that England made sure that legends such as Stuart Broad and James Anderson had a memorable farewell Test match.

"The BCCI should have planned farewell Test matches for R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. They deserved that respect. England celebrate its players when they retire — for example, Stuart Broad and James Anderson were given great farewells — but India fall short in this regard," Panesar told IANS.

Kohil and Rohit retired from Test in May last year, while Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket following the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia in December 2024.

Widely regarded as one of the modern greats of the game, Kohli bid adieu to his 14-year career with 9230 runs in 123 matches at an impressive average of 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. He hung up his spikes as the fourth-most successful Test captain overall, behind Graeme Smith (53 wins), Ricky Ponting (48 wins), and Steve Waugh (41 wins).

Rohit amassed 4,301 runs from 67 Tests at an average of 40.57, including hitting 12 centuries and 18 fifties. He averaged a wonderful 42.81 in 66 innings as an opener in Tests, including hitting nine centuries and eight fifties. He also oversaw India becoming runners-up in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final after losing to Australia at The Oval.

Ashwin ended his career with 537 wickets at average of 24 in 106 Tests and becoming India’s second leading wicket-taker after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble. He also scored six Test centuries and 14 fifties with the bat. His last international game was the day-night Test in Adelaide, where he took 1-53.

In the white-ball format, Ashwin made 181 appearances and snatched 228 wickets. He made 116 ODI appearances and took 156 wickets at an average of 33.20, with best figures of 4/25. He also made 707 runs at an average of 16.44, with one fifty, a knock of 65 in 63 innings. He is the 13th-highest wicket-taker in ODIs for India.

Ashwin ended his career with 537 wickets at average of 24 in 106 Tests and becoming India’s second leading wicket-taker after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble. He also scored six Test centuries and 14 fifties with the bat. His last international game was the day-night Test in Adelaide, where he took 1-53.

With 765 scalps in 287 matches, he is India's second-highest wicket-taker across all formats, next to Kumble (953). He also won the 2011 50-Over World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy with India.

Article Source: IANS