Former India selector Saba Karim cites ‘possible reason’ for Virat Kohli’s departure from ODI captaincy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dropped a bombshell on Wednesday when they named Rohit Sharma as the full-time captain of the One-Day Internationals (ODIs), replacing Virat Kohli.

The turn of events occurred when the apex Indian board announced the Test squad for the upcoming India tour of South Africa. Although, BCCI did not specify whether Kohli stepped down or was asked to vacate the captaincy for Rohit. Notably, the Delhi-born superstar had decided to resign as the skipper of the shortest format after the end of India’s T20 World Cup campaign in November.

Meanwhile, former India selector Saba Karim shared his thoughts on the red-hot topic. He reckoned that Kohli was sacked as the ODI captain due to his inability to win an ICC trophy during his four-year stint as the leader of Team India.

“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,” said Karim on the YouTube show Khelneeti.

Kohli, who took over as India’s limited-overs captain from MS Dhoni in 2017, led the side in 95 ODIs, winning 65 of them with a brilliant win percentage of 68. Under him, India played the Champions Trophy final in 2017, where they lost to arch-rivals Pakistan. Similarly, the 32-year-old captained India in the 2019 ODI World Cup, where New Zealand eliminated the ‘Men in Blue’ in the semi-final.

Karim also observed that current head coach Rahul Dravid or someone from the board would have communicated with him regarding the sudden decision.

“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,” added Karim.

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December 10, 2021 at 04:32PM