Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir talked about the rift between BCCI and Virat Kohli over his captaincy. He said that it was an internal matter which could’ve been sorted behind closed doors. 

Virat Kohli’s name has been hogging over the headlines in recent times. The 33-year-old stepped down as the T20I skipper in November last year and was sacked as the ODI captain by BCCI the next month. 

The governing body removing Kohli from the ODI captaincy opened doors for many controversies. The statements from both sides didn’t match and it only muddled things more.

BCCI received a lot of flak for the way they removed Kohli as the Indian ODI skipper. 

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Just a day after India lost the Test series against South Africa, Virat Kohli only raised the speculations, after he in a bombshell announcement, stepped down as the Test skipper. 

Although the right-hander didn’t mention anything about why he resigned as a captain, however, his statement has left many confused and has made many criticize BCCI for his decision.

Speaking to Times Now, Gautam Gambhir said that the rift between Virat Kohli and BCCI should’ve been sorted behind closed doors as it was an internal battle. 

"I think this could've been sorted behind closed doors as well. It was an internal battle. It was a great TRP for a lot of new channels but that's fine. If you go to the depth of it, the matter can easily be solved. It's not that big of an issue,” Gautam Gambhir said. 

Gambhir said that the controversy was created as he didn't see anything in it. He remarked that Virat Kohli should’ve continued as Test captain but once he stepped down as T20I skipper he had to let go of ODI captaincy as well. 

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"Honestly, I don't see any controversy which was created. Talking about captaincy, I think Virat should have continued as red-ball captain. But for white-ball captaincy, once he decided to let go of T20I captaincy, he had to let go of ODI captaincy as well,” he said. 

Gautam Gambhir further backed BCCI and selectors’ for their decision related to white-ball captaincy. He said that quitting Test captaincy was Virat Kohli’s decision but he should’ve continued leading the side in the longest format of the game. 

"The BCCI and the selectors were right from the white-ball point of view. But it was Virat's personal decision to step down from Test captaincy, which he should have continued," he said. 

Virat Kohli will be next seen in action when India will face West Indies in the ODI series, starting 6th February. He will play under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who missed the South Africa tour due to injury. 

(Times now inputs)