NEW DELHI: It was waiting to happen after India’s unceremonious World Cup exit and on Wednesday the BCCI ended Virat Kohli’s run as India’s white-ball captain with a rather matter-of-fact statement, handing the reins to Rohit Sharma.
The BCCI, it is learnt, waited for the last 48 hours for Kohli, who has already relinquished T20 captaincy, to voluntarily step down from ODI leadership as well but he did not.
By the 49th hour, losing the position to Rohit Sharma was simply ‘fait accompli’.
Perhaps, in the most telling way of telling someone that his time was up, Kohli’s sacking was not even addressed by the BCCI statement, which merely stated that the selection committee has decided to name Rohit captain of the ODI and T20I teams going forward.
The BCCI and its national selection committee sacked the decorated Kohli, who perhaps harboured the ambition of leading India at home in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The moment India were ousted from the T20 World Cup at the group league stage, Kohli’s leadership epitaph was written but the BCCI mandarins wanted to give the captain of the last four and half years an honourable exit route.
In the end, it seems Kohli dared the BCCI to sack him, the parent body went ahead and did exactly that and the once all-powerful skipper had no other option but to accept it. (Times of India)