Reactions to Virat Kohli's removal as India's ODI captain continue to pour on. The former India limited-overs internationals captain was on Wednesday replaced by Rohit Sharma as the new skipper of the ODI and T20Is teams, the BCCI announced in a tweet, while naming the Test squad for the tour of South Africa.
While the announcement was on expected line, no one saw it coming this quickly. When Kohli had relinquished the T20I captaincy and expressed his desire to continue leading in ODIs and Tests, it was believed that the 33-year-old was harbouring hopes of leading India at the 2023 World Cup. But clearly, the BCCI and selectors had other plans. On Thursday, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly broke his silence over the decision, saying that it did not make sense for the selectors to have two different captains for ODIs and T20Is, and hence the call was taken.
However, there are still many who think Kohli was hard-done by. One of them is former India all-rounder and head coach Madan Lal, who feels if Kohli's record was good as captain in ODIs – which it was – there was no need to sack him off the role. Lal added that he believed Kohli would lead India at the 50-overs World Cup two years later at home, which is why the news is all the more surprising.
"I don't know what the selectors have thought about this, but if he [Kohli] is producing the right results then why [change him]? I can understand T20s [he stepped down as captain] because there is so much of cricket and he can concentrate on two other formats. But if you are successful and still you are removed, it will of course pinch him. I was thinking Kohli would have stayed [as captain] till the 2023 World Cup. It is very difficult to build a team, but easier to destroy it," Lal told Mid-Day.
{{/usCountry}}"I don't know what the selectors have thought about this, but if he [Kohli] is producing the right results then why [change him]? I can understand T20s [he stepped down as captain] because there is so much of cricket and he can concentrate on two other formats. But if you are successful and still you are removed, it will of course pinch him. I was thinking Kohli would have stayed [as captain] till the 2023 World Cup. It is very difficult to build a team, but easier to destroy it," Lal told Mid-Day.
{{/usCountry}}Lal disagreed with Ganguly that two different leaders in two white-ball formats could potentially cause confusion, saying that it would not have been the first time that players would have played under different captains. For years, MS Dhoni led India in ODIs and T20Is, while Kohli was in charge of the Test team. Lal reckons there was no scope of non-transparency as players have fared well under captains with different styles and this would have been no different.
"I don't understand why would there be confusion. Every captain has a different style, so confusion is for what. The style will anyway change in Test and limited-overs. Virat and Rohit have their own style of leading the teams. MS Dhoni too had his own style. At the international level, it is about professionalism and performing all the time," the World Cup winning all-rounder said.