Decision To Sack Virat Kohli As ODI Captain Taken By Selectors: Sources To NDTV
The decision to remove Virat Kohli as captain of India's ODI team was taken by the national selectors and the BCCI top brass had no prior communication with him, sources have told NDTV.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the appointment of Rohit Sharma as India's ODI captain, with the opener replacing Virat Kohli in the role ahead of the upcoming tour to South Africa. The decision to remove Virat Kohli as captain of India's ODI team was taken by the national selectors and the BCCI top brass had no prior communication with him, sources have told NDTV. The 33-year-old Kohli wasn't asked to quit ODI captaincy ahead of Wednesday's announcement, according to sources.
The rationale behind the decision was to avoid split captaincy in white-ball cricket, sources further revealed. Rohit Sharma was appointed captain of India's T20I team ahead of last month's home series against New Zealand.
Kohli had earlier announced his decision to quit as T20I captain after the completion of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
The prolific batter had cited workload management as the reason behind the move.
"Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for the last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian Team in Test and ODI cricket," Kohli had stated at the time.
India will play three Test matches and three ODI matches as part of the upcoming tour to South Africa. The tour will begin with the opening Test in Centurion from December 26.
Rohit has been handed the reins of India's limited-over sides almost a year ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup and less than two years before the 2023 ODI World Cup, which will be held in India.
In another move, Rohit was promoted to Test vice-captaincy at the expense of the out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane.
India Cricket Team
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli