Syed Kirmani, the former India wicketkeeper-batsman on Sunday said that harmony should be displayed by both Test skipper Virat Kohli and the BCCI top management to end whatever issues have surfaced ever since the removal of Virat Kohli as ODI skipper after he stepped down as T20I skipper.
Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli as the ODI skipper and since then, there have been different versions put forward by Virat Kohli and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly which have led to severe speculation among fans and pundits.
Syed Kirmani: It’s Important To Have Harmony To Sort Out All The Issues
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.
“It is important to have harmony among one another, it is important to communicate before you take an important decision. Egos play a very big role in an individual’s life. That should not be there, Kohli is a powerful player,” Syed Kirmani said.
“The selection committee and BCCI President have their power, it is important to have harmony to sort out all the issues,” Syed Kirmani 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 Contradicts On Sourav Ganguly’s Version That The BCCI President Had Spoken To Him
A day after Virat Kohli was removed as the ODI captain, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that he had indeed spoken to Virat Kohli regarding the leadership change adding that he had requested Virat Kohli to also not give up the T20I captaincy.
“It’s a call that the BCCI and the selectors took together. Actually, the BCCI had requested Virat to not step down as the T20I skipper but obviously, he did not agree. And the selectors then did not feel it right to have two different captains for two white-ball formats,” Ganguly said.
“So it was decided that Virat will continue as Test captain and Rohit will take over as the white-ball captain. I as President personally spoke to Virat Kohli and the chairman of selectors has also spoken to him,” the BCCI president had added.
However, Virat Kohli held a press conference and contradicted Sourav Ganguly, saying he was never asked to leave the T20I captaincy. 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.
“Whatever was said about the communication that happened during the decision that was made was inaccurate. I was contacted one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting on 8th for the Test series,” said Virat Kohli while replying to a query during a virtual press conference.
Controversy erupted in Indian cricket earlier this month when Virat Kohli was removed – rather unceremoniously – as the captain in the ODIs after he stepped down as T20I skipper after the 2021 T20I World Cup concluded.