Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan believes that Virat Kohli wasn’t removed as India’s limited-overs captain by the BCCI, but it was likely his own decision to lead only the Test side while playing all the formats.
The BCCI named Rohit Sharma as India's full-time ODI and T20I captain recently, bringing an end to Kohli's five-year white ball captaincy.
He also believes that the split captaincy may augur well for both Kohli and Indian cricket while saying the latter may have realized that he cannot lead Team India in all three formats.
On Wednesday, December 8, Rohit Sharma was named India's ODI captain after he was named T20Is last month, and Wassan feels he will be good for the Indian cricket team, Rohit having won five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles for Mumbai Indians (MI).
Wassan told ANI: “I don't think it is the removal of Virat. Virat himself has consciously realized that he cannot lead all three formats. He was struggling and every player goes through this bad patch. He has set such high standards for himself that even 40s-50s are not counted but he also expects a lot from him.”
He added, “I said many years ago that it is not right for any country, any team that all three formats are led by one guy. Rohit has shown that he is a good leader. He has got IPL crowns but Virat hasn't. Maybe Virat will also find his second gear and second wind and it augurs well for Indian cricket.”
Meanwhile, the former cricketer said that captaincy is a burden, but Kohli has enjoyed his leadership across the formats.
He continued, “Captaincy is a burden but Virat has enjoyed it. So, he has been captaining for so long so the records will speak. Indian cricket is on a high. He got the baton from Dhoni which has given him performance and he also made some good players.”
On the recent changes in Indian cricket, Wassan said: “I think it comes into the holistic view of it. If you see that in some we lost big tournaments and in world cup also it is a big issue. Perhaps Virat and Ravi Shastri were cornering the authority also. So, BCCI probably wants to clip their wings also. This has been happening.”
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On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been retained in India's squad for the South Africa tour despite going through a lean patch and Wassan feels they are in their last legs.
He signed off by saying, “Rahane is struggling and for him to become vice-captain is untenable. The way Rohit has been performing. Pujara and Rahane are in their last legs.”
(With ANI Inputs)
