Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has shared his views on the recent tiff between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Virat Kohli that stunned the entire cricketing world.
Notably, Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I captain after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021, and then, just before the South Africa tour, the right-hander was replaced by Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain because the national selectors wanted one leader for the white-ball team.
Later, Kohli claimed that either BCCI or other board officials had informed him about his shacking. He had just gotten to know about the same one-and-a-half hours before the official announcement.
While BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had said that they had requested Kohli to not give up the T20I captaincy, Kohli gave a contradictory statement, which suggested a rift between him and the board members.
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The reports of a rift between Kohli and the BCCI flared up when the latter announced his decision to quit the Test captaincy as well, after India’s 1-2 Test series loss to South Africa, which effect on the team is clearly visible as they have lost the 5 of 6 matches on the South Africa tour.
However, Latif believes that Kohli’s captaincy saga won’t have any kind of adverse effect on the image of Indian cricket and he is looking forward to seeing how Rohit takes the Indian cricket team forward and replicate his IPL success with the national team. He led Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL titles.
Latif said on the 'Cricket Baaz' Youtube channel: “They have a strong base in the IPL and Indian cricket is now established as financially very strong so eventually I don't think these recent changes or happenings should have any bearing on Indian cricket as a brand.”
He added, “I think a lot now depends on how Rohit Sharma handles the team but he has his own style of leading the side and he has already achieved a lot with MI in the IPL. It remains to be seen how motivated he will be to captain in Tests. Kohli brought energy and purpose to his captaincy and team.”
However, the former Pakistan captain felt the BCCI did a mistake by removing Kohli as ODI captain.
He further explained, “I think it was a case of having handled things the wrong way and no way of going back as well. I know from personal experience having gone through it myself that in such a situation when a long-serving captain decides to step down or is removed it is never possible that he would not have had discussions with the board top officials.”
The former wicketkeeper-batsman added, “When I stepped down as captain in 2004 it was only after I spoke with our board chairman. That is why I am saying I think the BCCI has made a mistake in the way it handled this particular issue. It is not good for Indian cricket. When you have someone as a leader for five years or more and so successful as captain that obviously they are people in the team who are loyal to him and it does disturb the dressing room environment.”
Latif also blamed recent changes for India's series of defeats in South Africa. He signed off by saying, “I am not saying anyone deliberately didn't want to perform, every professional wants to do well but when the environment in a team changes it does affect the players in many ways.”
(With PTI Inputs)
