Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach on Sunday opened up on the Virat Kohli white ball-captaincy row which triggered a storm in Indian cricket following his fiery press conference a fortnight ago, before Team India’s departure for the South Africa tour.
Virat Kohli, who had earlier stepped down from the T20I captaincy role following India’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign in the UAE in October, was removed from the ODI captaincy as well one and a half hours before the team selection for the South Africa Test series.
Ravi Shastri: Change In ODI Captaincy Could Be A Blessing In Disguise For Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma
The 33-year-old had expressed his desire to continue to lead India in ODIs and Tests, but the selectors did not want two different white-ball skippers for the two formats. Commenting about the change of captaincy in Indian cricket, Ravi Shastri opined that it could serve as a blessing in disguise for both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who was named the new ODI and T20I captain.
“It’s the right way to go. This could be a blessing in disguise for Virat and Rohit. For one guy to handle all 3 is not easy at all in this time of living in and out of bio-bubbles because of Covid. Virat can focus on red-ball cricket and lead for as long as he wants to lead in Tests. It will allow him to sit back and think on his game because he’s got a good 5-6 years left in him,” Shastri said.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly later said that the board had requested Virat Kohli to not step down as T20I captain in October and that once he did, the selectors weren’t inclined on having two separate captains in white-ball formats. Virat Kohli revealed that there was no communication whatsoever apart from the fact that he was told just 90 minutes before the Test team selection about his ODI captaincy sacking.
Skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri had worked together as captain and coach since 2017 for four years, during which Indian cricket achieved phenomenal success. However, their stint ended on a disappointing note, with India getting knocked out of the 2021 T20I World Cup, failing to qualify for the semifinals for the first time in eight ICC events.
Ravi Shastri: Virat Kohli Has Given His Side Of The Story, Now BCCI President Sourav Ganguly Should Give His Version
Earlier this month, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had revealed that he had requested Virat Kohli not to step down from his T20I captaincy role, but the latter contradicted the words during his pre-departure presser, denying any conversation regarding the same. Speaking on the communication gap, Ravi Shastri had earlier said that it was time for Sourav Ganguly to present his side of the story.
“Virat has given his side of the story, it needs the board president to give his side of the story. With good communication, the situation could have been handled better,” Ravi Shastri said.
After the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli resigned from the T20I captaincy citing the workload in all three formats. Though he had the ambitions to continue as ODI captain yet the selectors thought otherwise. BCCI announced that Rohit Sharma would take over the ODI captaincy from Virat Kohli as the selectors wanted one captain in both white-ball formats.
A week after his removal as captain, Virat Kohli said in a press conference that no such request was made from the board, putting him and the BCCI at loggerheads. The speculation is rife since Virat Kohli’s explosive comments and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has since maintained considerable silence, insisting that the whole situation will be dealt with “internally.”