Virat Kohli’s childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, was disappointed with the sacking of the star batter as India’s ODI captain, despite being one of the successful leaders in the format statistically.
He has also expressed his shock over BCCI and all-India senior selection committee making Rohit Sharma the new India ODI captain on December 8. Kohli will now lead India in Tests, while Rohit will captain both T20I and ODI sides.
Rajkumar Sharma said that the BCCI and the national selectors should've been clearer about their stand when Kohli stepped down from T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2021.
The coach revealed that he hasn’t yet talked to Kohli after his sacking, as the Indian Test skipper’s phone was switched off, but he was clearly not happy with the BCCI’s decision.
Sharma said on the Khelneeti podcast: “I haven't talked to him (Virat Kohli) yet. His phone is switched off for some reason. But as far as my opinion is concerned, he had specifically stepped down from T20 captaincy and the selectors should've straightaway asked him to step down from both the white-ball formats or not step down at all.”
He wasn’t also happy with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly's recent comments on removing Kohli as ODI captain, with the former captain stating they had requested him "not to step down as T20I skipper."
Kohli’s coach added, “I read Sourav Ganguly's comments recently that they had asked Kohli to not step down from T20I captaincy (before the World Cup). I don't recall anything like that. This statement came as a surprise to me. There are different statements circulating around.”
The 56-year-old Sharma was also critical of the Indian selection committee for not having proper transparency in the decision-making process.
He signed off by saying, “The selection committee doesn't provide a reason behind the decision. We don't know what the management or the BCCI or the selectors want. There's no clarification, no transparency at all. It's a pity how this has happened. He has been such a successful one-day captain.”
