The BCCI announced on Wednesday that it was handing over white-ball cricket’s leadership mantle to Rohit Sharma, effectively sacking Virat Kohli as India’s ODI captain.
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit had already taken over Team India’s T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup and the recent decision was “bound to happen” say many former cricketers.
Former player Aakash Chopra explained that the Indian cricket board made a distinction between white-ball and red-ball cricket. ‘We had already discussed earlier that it was bound to happen. The day Virat Kohli quit T20I captaincy, it was a foregone conclusion that he would lose his One Day captaincy also very soon’, he said.
In September before the T20 World Cup, Kohli had already announced that he would be quitting as T20I skipper after the showpiece event, citing workload issues. He also mentioned his interest to continue leading India in ODI and Test formats. Rohit began his tenure as full-time T20I captain on a strong note, sealing a 3-0 win against the Blackcaps in November. Meanwhile, Kohli was rested for the series but returned for the ongoing Test matches.