JOIN USTrouble in paradise: What is the controversy around India's ODI captain swap
When Virat Kohli sat down to take questions from media persons on Thursday, there were many concerns in the Indian cricket team to unwrap. The latest was rumours of the star batter's absence from the ODI series in South Africa, where Rohit Sharma is leading the home side. However, as Kohli answered questions, it became increasingly clear that he would play. "I was and am always available," he noted.
But Kohli opened a can of worms when he publicly contradicted BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on how the management handled his exit as India's ODI captain – during which he achieved a near 70 per cent win record.
Kohli said he was given a 90-minute "notice" before being ousted as the ODI captain. "Whatever was said about the communication that happened about the decision that was made was inaccurate," he said.
BCCI revealed the change of leadership in the 50-over format on December 8, while announcing the Test squad for the South Africa series. In a statement, the country's cricket management mentioned that Sharma will replace Kohli in the limited-overs format, at the very bottom of the note.
Kohli had decided to step down as T20 captain after India's shock exit from the 2021 World Cup. While resigning, he cited the workload of captaining the side regularly in all three formats. "I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI cricket," he had said in a statement shared on Twitter.
Conflicting narratives
While Kohli had made it abundantly clear that he was keen on leading the ODI team, Ganguly, speaking to media, said once the T20 skipper resigned, selectors decided to hand over the 50-over leadership to Sharma, otherwise, there would be "too much leadership."
"We had requested Virat not to step down as T20 captain but he didn't want to continue as captain." Ganguly said.
Kohli, however, rubbished the BCCI president's claims.
"When I decided to leave the T20I captaincy and approached the BCCI about my decision, it was received well. There was no offence or hesitation. I wasn't told to reconsider it. It was received well; I was told it's progressive and it's (a step) in the right direction," he said.
Further, Kohli also made contrasting statements about the communication surrounding the announcement of his exit as ODI captain.
Earlier, Ganguly had told media that, on behalf of BCCI, it was the president himself and the chairman of selectors, who spoke to Kohli and intimated the BCCI's decision.
"Yes, I have spoken to Virat personally and chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma has also spoke to him on the issue," he said.
On Thursday, Kohli said there was "no prior communication."
"I was contacted one and a half hours before the selection meeting for the Test series on 8th and there was no prior communication to me at all since I announced the T20 captaincy decision. The chief selector discussed with me the Test team to which we both agreed and before ending the call I was told that the five selectors had decided that I would not be the ODI captain to which I replied 'Ok fine'. And in the selection call afterwards, we chatted about it briefly. That is all that happened. There was no communication prior to that at all,” Kohli said.
Alleged rift between Rohit and Virat
Rohit's injury absence from South Africa Tests and reports of Kohli sitting out of the ODI series became a perfect recipe for speculations of a rift. Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was among the first to flag the timing issues of the developments and how they could point towards a tussle.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur was questioned on the subject elsewhere and all he had to say was that "nobody is bigger than the sport."
Sharma and Kohli, both among India's biggest cricketing stars, have never publicly suggested differences between themselves. Kohli said on Thursday that he has grown tired of answering the question on this 'rift', he added that Sharma was "able and tactically sound" captain.
Notably, the BCCI only shared the aforementioned statement from the entire press event on Twitter.
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