BCCI should have asked Virat Kohli to step down as skipper from all white-ball formats, says childhood coach

Rajkumar Sharma felt that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors should have asked Kohli to step down as captain from both T20Is and ODIs or shouldn't have changed the skipper at all.

Virat Kohli in a file photo. (Image Credit: Twitter)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Dec 12, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Rajkumar Sharma, Virat Kohli‘s childhood coach, has broken his silence on the current split-captaincy debate in Indian cricket, following the superstar cricketer’s replacement as ODI skipper by Rohit Sharma last week. Rajkumar Sharma felt that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors should have asked Kohli to step down as captain for both T20Is and ODIs, or not changed the captain at all.

Notably, Kohli decided to step down as T20I captain because he did not want to continue in the position after the World Cup in the UAE last month. After the tournament, Rohit was given the captaincy, and the Indian cricket board made the surprising decision to make him captain in the ODI format as well.

“I haven’t talked to him (Virat Kohli) yet. His phone is switched off for some reason. But as far as my opinion is concerned, he had specifically stepped down from T20 captaincy and the selectors should’ve straightaway asked him to step down from both the white-ball formats, or not step down at all,” Sharma said, while speaking on the Khelneeti podcast.

RAJKUMAR SHARMA SURPRISED BY GANGULY COMMENTS

Sourav Ganguly, president of the BCCI, recently addressed the controversy, stating that the selectors were opposed to having separate captains for T20Is and ODIs because it would cause confusion in the team. Sharma expressed surprise at the former India captain’s remarks. He also went on to express his displeasure with the BCCI’s handling of the entire incident.

Also Read – Virat Kohli is still a leader of the team: Rohit Sharma

“I read Sourav Ganguly’s comments recently that they had asked Kohli to not step down from T20I captaincy (before the World Cup). I don’t recall anything like that. This statement came as a surprise to me. There are different statements circulating around,” Sharma said.

“The selection committee doesn’t provide a reason behind the decision. We don’t know what the management or the BCCI or the selectors want. There’s no clarification, no transparency at all. It’s a pity how this has happened. He has been such a successful one-day captain,” added the 56-year-old.

GAMBHIR BACKS KOHLI

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes that after losing the ODI captaincy, Kohli may become an even more dangerous batsman in limited-overs cricket.

“Same as Rohit Sharma’s role in red-ball cricket, it’s just that captaincy is not there. It might just free Virat Kohli up much more. He might just become more dangerous in white-ball cricket with the pressure of captaincy not being there on his shoulders,” Gambhir said during an interaction on the Star Sports show Follow the Blues.

“I am sure he is going to make India proud, he is going to keep getting runs in white-ball cricket or in red-ball cricket. At the same time, there will be two different guys probably giving their own thoughts, giving their own vision for the team,” he added.





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