Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt spoke about the growing tensions in Indian cricket after Virat Kohli's strong statements on the captaincy issues in a pre-tour press conference on December 15. Kohli revealed how he was made aware of the development regarding him being replaced by Rohit Sharma as the ODI skipper just one-and-a-half hours before the selection of India's Test squad for the South Africa tour. Butt stated that the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly, will need to come out with explanations on Kohli's statements from the presser.
Talking on his official YouTube channel, Butt explained how the "contrasting statements" by Ganguly and Kohli isn't good for Indian cricket going forward.
"Ganguly needs to answer this for the betterment of Indian cricket. He is the president of the BCCI and Kohli contradicting him in public is not a small thing. On one hand, Ganguly said he had requested Kohli not to step down from T20 captaincy. But Kohli has now come out and claimed that no one from the BCCI ever spoke to him about it. These are two completely contrasting statements," he said.
In a candid virtual interaction with the media, Kohli touched on several topics like his relationship with Rohit, losing the ODI captaincy and the preparations for the upcoming South Africa tour.
Ending all speculation regarding his participation in the ODI series, Kohli clarified his stance and said that he was available for selection.
India will be led by Virat Kohli in the three-match Test series beginning December 26.
The opening Test match will be played in Centurion at the SuperSport Park from December 26 to 30. Johannesburg's Wanderers Stadium will be the host to the second Test between January 3 to 7 next year. The third and final Test will be played in Newlands in Cape Town between January 11 to 15.
Other than the Tests, India will also engage in a three-match ODI series while the T20I series has been rescheduled for later.