I was not told to not leave T20 captaincy: Kohli
Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has revealed he wasn't told to not leave the T20I captaincy ahead of India's tour of South Africa. Kohli, who addressed the media in a press conference, cleared the air on Wednesday. Recently, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said he had personally requested Kohli to not give up the T20I captaincy. Here are further details.
- The entire episode is a new low in Indian cricket.
- Kohli has cleared the air about him approaching the BCCI first regarding his desire to step down as T20I captain.
- He has also contradicted Ganguly's comments.
- The way in which he was sacked as the ODI captain was not ideal.
- The BCCI needed to be more responsible.
Last month, Kohli had stepped down as India's T20I captain. The ICC T20 World Cup was his last assignment as India's T20I skipper. Post the event, Rohit Sharma took charge as India's skipper in T20Is.
Former Indian skipper and current BCCI boss Ganguly had told News18 recently that he personally requested him (Kohli) not to give up the T20 captaincy. Ganguly highlighted that Kohli felt the workload and this is why he decided to step down. He praised Kohli and said the latter led India for a long period of time and these things happen.
On Wednesday, Kohli refuted Ganguly's claims and said the BCCI had received his decision well regarding the T20 captaincy. "When I approached BCCI about the T20 captaincy, it was received well by them and I was not told to not leave the T20 captaincy."
Recently, Rohit was named the captain of Team India's ODI and T20I sides. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed about the development last week. Rohit will lead the Indian ODI side during the upcoming South Africa tour. He had earlier taken over the T20I captaincy from Virat Kohli.
In his press conference, Kohli, who is India's Test captain, said he was informed by the selectors about being dropped as the ODI skipper. "I was contacted by selectors 1.5 hours before the meeting, we discussed about the Test selection, then chief selectors told me I won't be the ODI captain and I was fine with it," he said.
Kohli was appointed the full-time ODI captain of Team India in January 2017. He led India to a 2-1 ODI series win against England. Under him, India won 65 out of 95 ODIs and lost 27 (Tied: 1, NR: 2). He registered a win percentage of 70.43, the best among Indian captains who led in 50 or more ODIs.
There were several whispers and rumors doing the rounds in the media about a possible rift between Kohli and Rohit. Today, Kohli cleared the air and brushed aside the speculation. "There is no problem between me and Rohit Sharma - I have been clarifying since the last 2.5 years - I am literally tired," the 33-year-old clarified.
Team India will be playing three Tests in their tour of South Africa, starting December 26. Post that India will play three ODIs as well. Kohli confirmed he will be part of the ODI series and was always available, contrary to certain reports in media.
