For some, Virat Kohli's removal as India's ODI captain was unexpected, while for others, it was on expected lines. The impending decision of Kohli no longer being captain of limited-overs teams had to come sometime and the BCCI decided that the sooner it is taken, the better it is for Indian cricket. Hence, through a tweet on Wednesday, the BCCI appointed Rohit Sharma as India's new ODI and T20I captain.
As reactions continue to pour from several sections, former BCCI selector Venkatapathy Raju feels that relieving Kohli of India's ODI and T20I captaincy duties may not be a bad call after all. Reminding how former coach Ravi Shastri had hinted after Kohli had stepped down as the T20I captain, that it may not be long before the 33-year-old batter lets go the responsibility in ODIs too, Raju mentioned that the development should not cause any dispute in the Indian team.
"I don't think so," Raju was quoted as saying by Mid-Day. "Ravi Shastri [ex-coach] had said that Virat may give up the ODI captaincy. So, discussions have happened. I hope this is taken in the right way. There should not be any problems in the team. Since we did not win any World Cup titles under Kohli, the BCCI may have thought of trying out a new captain."
{{/usCountry}}"I don't think so," Raju was quoted as saying by Mid-Day. "Ravi Shastri [ex-coach] had said that Virat may give up the ODI captaincy. So, discussions have happened. I hope this is taken in the right way. There should not be any problems in the team. Since we did not win any World Cup titles under Kohli, the BCCI may have thought of trying out a new captain."
{{/usCountry}}Although Kohli's near five-year-long captaincy term comes to an end, he ends it with the best win percentage (of 70) by any Indian skipper in the format, better than MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Azharuddin to name a few. Under Kohli, India played 95 matches, winning 65 of those and his final match as ODI captain came against England in Pune earlier in March this year, which India won by seven runs.
Rohit, who has lead India in 10 ODI matches, is likely to officially take over from the three-match series against South Africa staring next month.