'Whoever's plan this was, it backfired': Rashid Latif feels Indian cricket has reached 'dead end' after Kohli-BCCI saga

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif feels that the Virat Kohli's captaincy saga has had an impact on India's performance in the tour of South Africa before alleging that the plan to remove the 33-year-old from the leader's position has completely backfired leaving Indian cricket in a “dead end” position. 

The saga began a month after Kohli had stepped down from T20I captaincy when he was removed from the role in ODIs as well after. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly the revealed that him and the board members had requested Kohli to reconsider his decision in T20I format, however the latter denied having any communication, further adding that he was informed about the ODI captaincy removal 90 minutes before the team selection meeting. 

The controversy continued with the chief selector Chetan Sharma reiterating Ganguly's words. And three weeks later, Kohli stepped down from Test captaincy as well. Amid this turmoil, India incurred a forgettable tour of South Africa, losing 2-1 in Tests and conceding an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODIs and the former Pakistan cricketer feels that the Kohli episode had an impact on the team's performance.  

“It has reached a dead end now. And there is nothing in a dead end. No way out. Whoever's plan this was, it just did not work out. It was wrong and it backfired. Fact is when a player is leading a team for near about 10 years, his roots are deeply instilled in the team. You shouldn't break that. It sets a bad example,” he said during his conversation on YouTube channel ‘Cricket Baaz with Waheed Khan’.

India are yet to announce Kohli's captaincy replacement in Test cricket with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant as the frontrunners for the role. 

The BCCI have meanwhile named Rohit as the new white-ball skipper and had named him as the new Test vice-captain as well last December.