After India’s humiliating World Cup loss, the BCCI ended Virat Kohli’s tenure as India’s white-ball captain with a matter-of-fact statement on Wednesday, handing the reins to Rohit Sharma “going ahead.”
The BCCI reportedly waited for Kohli, who has already stepped down as T20 captain, to willingly stand aside from ODI captaincy as well, but he did not. Losing the position to Rohit Sharma was a ‘fait accompli’ by the 49th hour.
Kohli’s removal was not even mentioned in the BCCI statement, which simply stated that the selection committee has chosen to make Rohit captain of the ODI and T20I squads moving forward.
Kohli was relieved of his captaincy. It was as simple as that.
Kohli was fired by the BCCI and its national selection committee, maybe because he aspired to captain India in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.
Kohli’s leadership epitaph was written the moment India was eliminated from the T20 World Cup at the group stage, but BCCI officials wanted to give the captain of the last four and a half years a dignified goodbye.
In the end, it appears like Kohli challenged the BCCI to fire him, and the parent body did just that, leaving the formerly all-powerful skipper with no choice but to accept it.
Kohli’s leadership cycle has been a fascinating narrative in and of itself.
He began as a brash captain-in-waiting under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who took him under his wing and trained him well enough before convincing him that it was time to give him white-ball captaincy and at least two years to prepare for a World Cup.
Kohli became the team’s all-powerful captain during the next two years, able to get things done his way. It didn’t hurt that he had a Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators that gave in to all of his demands, some of which were reasonable and some of which were not.
Then, along with a very powerful secretary and a president who knows a thing or two about being a successful captain himself, the traditional administrators returned to the business.
In the end, there was no place for two separate white-ball captains.
Australia has Aaron Finch, England has Eoin Morgan as white-ball captains. Even India had Kohli as Test and Dhoni as ODI and T20I captain for two years.
But all those who follow Indian cricket closely shouldn’t be surprised with this turn of events.
The worst kept secret in the Indian dressing room is the fact that their skipper isn’t the most popular man in the side.
Kohli is an articulate man but closer home among his folks, one has always heard rumblings about him not being a players’ man.
News wrote on September 16 about how the dressing room had drifted away from Kohli and it did not happen in a day.
“The biggest problem with Virat has always been trust issues. He speaks about clear communication but where he had lost respect as a leader is lack of communication,” a player, who had been a part of that Indian dressing room a couple of years back.
While former head coach Ravi Shastri has recently recommended Kohli to focus on his batting, did he ever point out that his man management abilities were lacking, not to mention his questionable tactical acumen on big days, when the skipper was at the peak of his powers?
Maybe not because no one wants to upset the status quo. Anil Kumble had given it his all, but had failed horribly.
After a handful of failures, there have been numerous instances where players have felt apprehensive about their status in the team.
Previously, if a player was doing well and at the top of his game, he would be praised, but as a captain, he was unconcerned when the team was struggling.
Kohli’s handling of Kuldeep Yadav is one of the worst examples of leadership when a great talent couldn’t figure out where he went wrong.
Not just Kuldeep, but a number of other players had no idea what their specific roles were.
According to rumours, Kohli didn’t get along with the Shastri-led erstwhile support crew near the end of the England series.
It wasn’t that they had any nasty clashes, but at the end of the day, Kohli and Shastri didn’t see eye to eye, but because the latter was mentally done with the job, he bid his time and walked out with his head held high.
Dhoni’s hotel room used to be open 24 hours a day, and players could walk in at any moment, order room service, play a game of PS4 (playstation), and relax. It wasn’t so much about discussing technique as it was about being able to form strong bonds.
Kohli became a detached personality once he was handed leadership and over the years, most of the juniors found an elder brother who offered a “reassuring arm around their shoulder” in Rohit.
He became that guy who would take them out for a meal and when someone scored less than 50 runs in five matches, he would come to them and spell out in no uncertain terms that
“Don’t worry, I am there for you.”
It will be a new start for Kohli and one needs to see how he adapts to this change where he is no longer the undisputed leader.
He will still lead in Tests but being is a proud performer, it remains to be seen how he continues as red ball skipper for a longer duration knowing that he isn’t in absolute control.
The Virat Kohli “captaincy regime” is ending and one would see Rohit Sharma’s “leadership era.” It could well be infinitely more exciting.
