NEW DELHI (National Times) – The Indian cricket board s removal of Virat Kohli as ODI captain was inevitable when he refused to step down after a dismal T20 World Cup, local media said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The star batsman had relinquished his leadership of a T20 side who were eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup — anathema to fans in a country obsessed by cricket.<\/p>\n
But Kohli sought to hold on to the ODI captaincy — a plan that came to an unceremonious end when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said late Wednesday that Rohit Sharma would captain the one-day team on its South Africa tour.<\/p>\n
“Virat Kohli refuses to step down, BCCI cracks whip,” the Press Trust of India said in a headline.<\/p>\n
The BCCI had waited for the 33-year-old to leave voluntarily as ODI captain, but when he failed to, losing the position was “simply fait accompli”, it said.<\/p>\n
Kohli was not informed about his “sacking” beforehand, the Indian Express said.<\/p>\n
India went to the T20 World Cup as one of the favourites but crashed out after big losses to New Zealand and arch-rivals Pakistan.<\/p>\n
India s top-order failures in the two defeats — the loss to Pakistan was their first in a World Cup — raised questions about their preparation and leadership.<\/p>\n
A terse line at the end of a BCCI statement announcing the Test squad for the upcoming tour confirmed that Sharma, 34, will now lead India in both white-ball formats.<\/p>\n
“However great a player Virat Kohli is… it is inevitable he will feel a sense of loss,” tweeted cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle.<\/p>\n
Sports writer Ayaz Memon said that Sharma “thoroughly deserved” his promotion. He will also be Kohli s deputy in Tests.<\/p>\n
But Memon warned that coach Rahul Dravid would need to be “buffer, bridge and big brother” between Kohli and Sharma because “dressing-room dynamics change” during a transition.<\/p>\n
Indian sports author Boria Majumdar praised Sharma s elevation but said that it was important to take Kohli “into confidence” and ensure there was “clear communication”.<\/p>\n
“For Indian cricket, it s needed,” he added. Fans online lamented the manner of Kohli s exit. “A captain who maintained win percentage of 68 percent in ODIs is surely not supposed to be bidden farewell via a press release with two sentences without even mentioning his name, no,” wrote one.<\/p>\n
Kohli has the best winning percentage for an Indian ODI skipper but has faced criticism over the team s inability to win major tournaments. He has also come under scrutiny as his form has dipped over the last two years. He will still lead India for a three-Test series in South Africa starting December 26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI (National Times) – The Indian cricket board s removal of Virat Kohli as ODI captain was inevitable when he refused to step down after a dismal T20 World Cup, local media said on Thursday. The star batsman had relinquished his leadership of a T20 side who were eliminated in the group stage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n