Virat Kohli's press conference before departing for the South Africa tour has put the BCCI in a chaotic situation as the governing body is exploring options on dealing with the crisis without distracting the team ahead of an important Test series.
Addressing the media, the Indian Test captain on Wednesday (December 15) said he was never asked "not to quit T20 captaincy", contrary to what BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had told several media outlets after Kohli’s removal as ODI captain earlier this month.
According to a PTI report, no BCCI official is pleased with Kohli’s remarks in the press conference but they also understand that any strong reaction in their bid to do a quick-fix could be detrimental.
While Virat Kohli landed in South Africa on December 16, Ganguly said that he won’t like to make any public statement.
"No statements, no press conference. We will deal with it, leave it to (the) BCCI," Ganguly told media-persons.
As per the report, BCCI officials, including Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, had a zoom call after Kohli’s press conference and decided that no one would do a press conference or issue a press release.
"Expert opinion was taken on how to deal with the sensitive matter as it also involves the respect of a president's office. The BCCI knows that a Test series is round the corner and any hasty decision or statement from them could affect the morale of the team," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
While a centrally-contracted player is not supposed to make any critical comments about the board or its office-bearers, Virat Kohli had only clarified his stance on the captaincy matter, in response to a question, at a press meet that the board had organised.
So, it remains to be seen whether Kohli’s remarks amount to violating the protocol.
(With PTI inputs)
