Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim has opened up on why Virat Kohli has been sacked as the captain of the ODI team. Karim has said that India’s inability to win a single ICC trophy under his leadership left the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) with no choice.
However, the cricketer-turned-commentator has said this on the YouTube show Khelneeti where he revealed that Kohli had himself announced his resignation from the post of India’s T20I skipper. Karim also added that Kohli, however, did not hint at leaving the captaincy in ODI cricket as well.
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Saba Karim said:
“It is right to say that Kohli has been sacked. He made the announcement while leaving the T20I captaincy and could have confirmed that he does not want to continue as ODI captain as well. This meant he wanted to remain ODI captain. Not being able to win an ICC trophy could have cost Virat Kohli the ODI captaincy.”
“I believe someone would have surely talked to Kohli” – Saba Karim
While many reports suggested that Virat Kohli was not consulted by the BCCI regarding the split captaincy, Karim believes that head coach Rahul Dravid certainly have had a chat with him. He said:
“I am confident that Rahul Dravid or someone from the BCCI would have had a word with Virat Kohli regarding their plans of introducing split captaincy. Dravid has often put emphasis on having clear communication with players. So, when it comes to taking such a big decision, I believe someone would have surely talked to Kohli.”
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Nikhil Chopra, who was also there on Khelneeti’s YouTube channel, has shared his views on Rohit Sharma being handed the ODI captaincy. He said that it was the right step taken by the board.
“There would have been confusion if there had been different captains in ODIs and T20Is. Kohli still has an opportunity to clinch an ICC trophy and the World Test Championship is going to be crucial for him. Whereas Rohit has two World Cups coming up and he now gets a chance to build a team for the same,” he told.
Notably, along with the limited-overs captaincy, Rohit Sharma has been named as the deputy of the longer format too whereas Virat Kohli will continue to lead the team in the Tests.
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