Ravi Shastri Had Suggested Virat Kohli To Leave India's White-Ball Captaincy Six Months Ago- Reports

Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri had suggested Indian skipper Virat Kohli to give up white-ball captaincy months before.

A few days ago, Virat Kohli announced that he would step down from India’s T20I captainship role after the completion of the T20 World Cup in November.

Kohli cited that the decision was made in order to manage his workload and thereafter he also decided to step down as RCB’s captain at the end of IPL 2021.

Ravi Shastri had spoken to Virat Kohli around six months ago: Reports

However, some reports suggest that Shastri had discussed with Kohli about the captaincy thing six months ago. But the Indian skipper has only decided to give up the role in the shortest format while intending to continue in ODI and Test cricket.

“Shastri had spoken to Kohli around six months ago. But Kohli didn’t listen to Shastri. He is still keen to lead India in ODIs and that is why he only decided to let go of the T20 captaincy. Even the board was discussing it as to how Kohli could be utilised more as a batsman. That is because he has a lot left as a player even now,” a BCCI official told India Ahead. 

“If Kohli was that bad a captain, India wouldn’t have stayed as No. 1 team in the world. It’s just that he didn’t win an ICC Trophy, which can happen anytime soon,” he added. 

Virat Kohli to aim at ICC T20 World Cup 2021

India are yet to win an ICC trophy under Kohli’sleadership and this could be his golden chance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Kohli has led the team in 45 T20 International matches, having won 27 of them with a win percentage of 65.11%, which is better than his predecessor MS Dhoni’s 59.28.

India are paired with Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand and two more teams yet to be qualified in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage. The team will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 in India.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Former Indian Cricketer Says Virat Kohli Could Be Removed From Captaincy In The Mid-Way