Former India head coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday opened up on the Virat Kohli white-captaincy row which triggered a storm in Indian cricket following his fiery press conference a fortnight ago, before Team India's departure for the South Africa tour.
Kohli, who had earlier stepped down from the T20I captaincy role following India's T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE in October, was removed from the ODI captaincy as well one and a half hour before the team selection for the South Africa Test series. The 33-year-old had expressed his desire to continue to lead India in ODIs and Tests, but the selectors did not want two different white-ball skippers for the two formats.
Talking to Star Sports on Sunday the change of captaincy in Indian cricket, Shastri opined that it could serve as a blessing in disguise for both Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who was named the new ODI and T20I captain.
"It's the right way to go. This could be a blessing in disguise for Virat and Rohit. For one guy to handle all 3 is not easy at all in this time of living in and out of bio-bubbles because of Covid.
{{/usCountry}}"It's the right way to go. This could be a blessing in disguise for Virat and Rohit. For one guy to handle all 3 is not easy at all in this time of living in and out of bio-bubbles because of Covid.
{{/usCountry}}"Virat can focus on red-ball cricket and lead for as long as he wants to lead in Tests. It will allow him to sit back and think on his game because he's got a good 5-6 years left in him," Shastri said.
Earlier this month, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had revealed that he had requested Kohli not to step down from his T20I captaincy role, but the latter contradicted the words during his pre-departure presser, denying any conversation regarding the same.
Speaking on the communication gap, Shastri had earlier told Indian Express that it was time for Ganguly to present his side of story.
“Virat has given his side of the story, it needs the board president to give his side of the story. With good communication, the situation could have been handled better,” Shastri said