Over the past few days, rumour mills have been busy churning out possibilities of Indian cricket’s main men, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, taking a U-turn on their Test retirement decisions to help the beleaguered side in the traditional format, with India on the brink of slipping out of title contention in the World Test Championship.

Speculation that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had approached Virat Kohli to reconsider his Test retirement intensified amid this chatter. Several reports suggested the board was exploring the option of recalling the former captain in light of India’s recent struggles in red-ball cricket.

India’s back-to-back home series setbacks—an unusual occurrence for a team long considered unbeatable in their own conditions—only added fuel to the speculation. Many observers believed such a slump might prompt the board to turn to its senior-most figures for stability.

However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has rubbished the rumours outright. Speaking to AajTak, he clarified that the board had neither contacted Kohli nor held any internal discussion on the matter.

“All the talk surrounding Virat is purely speculative. There has been no approach and no conversation about reversing his Test retirement,” Saikia stated, urging fans and media to ignore unfounded claims.

His remarks decisively shut down the narrative of a potential Kohli comeback in the longest format. (With inputs from Agencies)