‘I feel that I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI ‘ : these were the exact words used by team India captain Virat Kohli in the post though which he conveyed to the world that he will be stepping down from captaincy of the Indian T20 team after the 2021 T20 World Cup. But was that the entire truth?
We all are well aware of the politics and the so called ‘Bombay Lobby’ that exists in he Indian cricket fraternity and as it now seems, Virat Kohli stepping down from captaincy was very closely related to this same politics. Reportedly the Indian skipper wanted to take some decisions about the squad which did not go down well with any member of the Selection committee, like the selection of Shikhar Dhawan in the team. Virat Kohli wanted Gabbar to be selected in the team but the selectors wanted to give a chance to a youngster who had done well in the. Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. There was reportedly a huge debate between the two sides regarding this and Virat Kohli has seemingly been handed a strict ultimatum.
So much so that the Indian skipper was on the verge of losing his captaincy in all the formats if he failed to do something good in the T20 World Cup. It is being said that that’s when Virat Kohli decided to step down as the captain of the Indian T20 team to safeguard his captaincy in the other two formats. However, his captaincy is now under threat irrespective of that.
“Virat knew that he would have been removed from white ball captaincy. If the team doesn’t do well at the UAE World T20, he was gone for good as far as white-ball leadership is concerned. He just reduced a bit of pressure on himself as it would seem that he is there on his own terms. It might not happen for 50 overs if the performance in T20 hits a downward spiral,” a BCCI source revealed today.
Reports: Virat Kohli knew he would be removed from captaincy; That’s why he stepped down himself !
