Former Indian all-rounder and head coach Madan Lal wasn’t happy with the BCCI’s decision to remove Virat Kohli as India’s ODI captain given his record, saying there was no need to sack him from the role while expressing his surprise at the decision.
He further said that the sudden removal of Kohli will pinch him as the Test captain, saying it is very easy to destroy the team, but very difficult to rebuild it while questioning the BCCI’s decision.
Kohli was replaced by Rohit Sharma as both the ODI and T20I captain of the Indian cricket team.
Lal stated as reported by Hindustan Times: “I don't know what the selectors have thought about this, but if he [Kohli] is producing the right results then why [change him]? I can understand T20s [he stepped down as captain] because there is so much of cricket and he can concentrate on two other formats.
But if you are successful and still you are removed, it will of course pinch him. I was thinking Kohli would have stayed [as captain] till the 2023 World Cup. It is very difficult to build a team, but easier to destroy it.”
Meanwhile, the 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder didn’t agree with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly’s statement over Kohli’s ouster as ODI captain. Ganguly had stated that it did not make sense to have two different captains for ODIs and T20Is, so they decided to remove Kohli.
Reacting to Ganguly’s statement, the former coach mentioned how MS Dhoni led India in ODIs and T20Is, while Kohli led the Test team for years without any confusion, so there should be no scope for non-transparency or difficulty in playing under two different captains.
Lal signed off by saying, “I don't understand why would there be confusion. Every captain has a different style, so confusion is for what. The style will anyway change in Test and limited-overs. Virat and Rohit have their own style of leading the teams. MS Dhoni too had his own style. At the international level, it is about professionalism and performing all the time.”
