Cricket, being the ultimate passion in India, means when legends retire, a fitting farewell is documented with piped-in crowds, tearful speeches, and all sorts of honors. But, sometimes cricket just doesn’t end in the fashion one desires. So here are five Indian cricket stalwarts who never got that curtain call to bid an official adieu.
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma’s retirement announcement for Test cricket on May 7, 2025, came as a complete surprise to many. After an indifferent tour of Australia where he could manage only 31 runs in three matches, he chose to hang up his gloves soon after leading India to a Champions Trophy victory. Known as the ‘Hitman,’ he might have played 67 Tests and amassed 4,300 plus runs but somehow, that farewell was never in the store for him.
2. Virat Kohli
Almost immediately after Rohit retired, on May 12, 2025, Virat Kohli also announced his retirement. The little maestro completed his Test cricket career after 123 matches with a compilation of 9,230 runs and 30 centuries. A grand name in today’s cricketing arena, Kohli chose to say adieu through social media instead of getting a fitting farewell for his achievements in Test cricket.
3. MS Dhoni
India’s most wonderful captain bowled a few surprises when he declared retiring from Tests in December 2014 during the Australia tour. After the Melbourne Test, he just issued a press note announcing his retirement without any farewell parade or guard of honor-thus ending his 90-Test career.
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4. VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman is said to have had perfect timings while batting, but his retirement came in quite an unexpected fashion. Just before the home series against New Zealand in 2012, he chose to retire, despite being selected to play in the series. The one-time hero who had scored that magical 281 against Australia never really got to enter the annals of cricket history with an appropriate end to his career. For an exponent who has rescued India umpteen times, his understated exit always did seem a bit unfair.
5. Virender Sehwag
Remember the excitement when Sehwag walked out to bat? With over 8,500 runs in Tests, he changed the face of opening batting. But in 2012, after barely holding his own against England, he was dropped and that was it. There was no farewell, no applause when he slipped away. He remained on the records for a few years, but there was never an opportunity for the crowd to bid him the rightful adieu.
