Jay Shah and Arun Dhumal have rubbished reports of split captaincy, stating that Virat Kohli will be the captain of the side and all the reports of split captaincy are false.
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On Tuesday, there was an interesting development reported by the media on the captaincy of the Indian cricket team. A Times of India report stated that according to BCCI sources, the Indian cricket board was considering split captaincy in the team. Virat Kohli would be the captain of the Test side while Rohit Sharma will be the ODI and T20I captain. The need accordingly was for Kohli to focus on his batting which has been in a ‘slump’ for the last two years.
The captaincy debate has long been there for the past two years. Rohit Sharma has a fabulous record in white-ball cricket. He has won the IPL five times for the Mumbai Indians, has got a brilliant record in both ODIs and T20Is. However, the BCCI has put to rest all speculation by stating that there all the reports of split captaincy are baseless.
Speaking to the Indian Express, BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that as long as the team is performing, the question of captaincy change does not arise. Kohli is one of the most successful captains in the world, excelling in Test cricket. But, under his captaincy, India has fallen short at ICC events. India lost in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final. In the 2019 World Cup semifinal, India lost to New Zealand. They also suffered a defeat in the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Reacting to the split captaincy rumors, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal also rubbished the reports. “Nothing (as) such is happening. This is all what you guys (media) are talking about,” Dhumal told News 18.
Kohli is counted as one of the most successful captains in Indian cricket. He has a winning percentage of 70.43 percent in the 95 ODIs he has led.
Rohita has led the Indian squad in 19 ODIs, out of which the team has won 15. His record in ODIs, T20Is and for Mumbai Indians in IPL had made him the natural choice. But, the TOI report had quoted sources that stated that the decision for a split captaincy was taken for several reasons.
The main thing was that Kohli wanted to focus primarily on his batting. The Indian skipper has not hit a century in any format for the last two years. He just wanted to focus on becoming the ‘best batsman in the world.’ The decision for the split captaincy was taken after the consent of both Rohit and Virat. The camaraderie among the duo has been there for everyone to see.
But, the BCCI may still have some tricks up its sleeve. They may still announce the decision after the end of the ICC World T20 2021. The trick of the BCCI might be to once again re-confirm what media had earlier reported, giving it their twist. The Indian players are currently in the IPL and after the ICC World T20 2021, India will play a series against New Zealand and South Africa.
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