It’s Virat Kohli vs BCCI on captaincy: ‘I wasn’t told not to step down’ | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket has been historically plagued by lack of communication when it comes to changing captains or axing big players. Wednesday saw another ugly day in the Indian cricket board’s history when Test captain Virat Kohli surprised all by contradicting BCCI’s claims on how he was removed as the full-time white-ball captain of the Indian team last week.
In what came as a major embarrassment for the BCCI, Kohli refuted president Sourav Ganguly’s recent statement that the board had requested him to stay on as the T20I skipper while he was announcing his resignation as the captain in the shortest format in September. At the end of the media briefing on the eve of the Test team’s departure to South Africa, it was about the captain’s word versus the president’s word.
“Whatever was said about the communication that happened about the decision that was made was inaccurate,” Kohli emphatically stated.

“When I decided to leave T20 captaincy, I approached BCCI first. I told them my reasons and point of view. I was not told I shouldn’t step down as T20 captain. It was received very nicely. There was no offense or hesitation. It was deemed as a progressive step in the right direction,” he said.
“At that time, I also communicated that I would want to continue as captain in both ODIs and Tests unless the office bearers and selectors felt that I should not take that responsibility. I cleared it on call. I had given them the option and left the decision on them.”
The selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, had announced on December 8 that Rohit Sharma will assume the charge of the ODI team during the South Africa tour.

“The board and selectors had asked Virat to rethink his decision to quit T20 captaincy. He had declined the suggestion at the time. The selectors deliberated on the situation for a while and they were uncomfortable with the idea of having two captains for white-ball cricket,” Ganguly had told TOI on December 9.
Kohli went on to reveal that neither the board nor the selectors were in touch with him about their vision when it came to limited-overs cricket. According to Kohli, he was asked to join a meeting to pick the Test team for the South Africa series and he received the call 90 minutes before the meeting. The selectors broke the news to him during the meeting.
“I was contacted one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting on December 8. The chief selector discussed with me the Test team to which we both agreed. Before ending the call, I was told that the five selectors have decided that I won’t be the ODI captain, which I was fine with. After the selection call, we chatted about it briefly. There was no communication after I had quit T20 captaincy,” Kohli claimed.

Ganguly had claimed that the selectors were against having split captaincy for white-ball cricket. On what he thought was the reason behind his removal, Kohli said, “Obviously, we didn’t win ICC tournaments. I don’t want any debate if the reasons are right or wrong. The decision taken by BCCI was from a logical point of view. That’s understandable.”
Kohli’s statements left the BCCI members in a tizzy. Board sources claim that the selectors maintain they had made it clear to him why they didn’t want two captains in limited-overs cricket.
Wednesday’s developments have been a harsh lesson for BCCI on the need for transparency and communication. Interestingly, the selectors were gagged from talking to the media once the new regime came to power in October 2019. Chief selector Chetan Sharma has faced the media only once in one year where he had claimed Hardik Pandya was fit to bowl four overs in every T20 World Cup match. TOI understands that a section of the BCCI is now in favour of reviving the trend from the next selection meeting.

‘Never asked for any rest’
Kohli also dismissed reports of him requesting BCCI for rest during the ODI leg of the South Africa tour. “I was and I am available for selection all the time. I never communicated with BCCI asking for rest. I am available for the ODI series in South Africa, and was always available,” he said.
Interestingly, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal on Tuesday went on record to say that Kohli had indeed asked for rest long before Rohit Sharma was appointed the ODI captain.