BCCI's Decision To Sack Virat Kohli As ODI Captain Has Backfired, Says Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif lambasted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their decision to sack Virat Kohli from the ODI captaincy.

Kohli stepped down from the T20I captaincy role after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in November last year. Just ahead of the South Africa tour, he was replaced with Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain as the selectors didn’t want two white-ball captains for India.

Virat Kohli-BCCI saga not apt for Indian cricket team’s progress

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said that the selectors had requested Kohli to not give up the T20I captaincy, something that national chief selector Chetan Sharma also reiterated during the South Africa Test series.

However, Kohli had mentioned that his decision to step down from India’s T20I captaincy was welcomed by the Indian board.

South Africa whitewashed India 3-0 in the recent ODI series after a narrow win by four runs on Sunday in Cape Town. This was India’s first ODI series after Kohli stepped down as captain of the team from all formats.

Whoever’s plan this was, it just did not work out: Rashid Latif

Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 ODI matches for Pakistan in his 11 years of international cricket, said BCCI’s decision to remove Kohli from ODI captaincy has backfired.

“It has reached a dead end now. And there is nothing in a dead end. No way out. Whoever’s plan this was, it just did not work out. It was wrong and it backfired,” Latif said on the YouTube channel ‘Cricket Baaz’.

“Fact is when a player is leading a team for nearly 10 years, his roots are deeply instilled in the team. You shouldn’t break that. It sets a bad example,” he added.

Kohli made a couple of half-centuries in the three ODIs and also was dismissed for a nought in the second ODI. The 33-year-old Indian batter hasn’t scored an international hundred for more than two years.

Also Read: Watch: Virat Kohli Dedicates His Half-Century To Daughter Vamika During 3rd ODI vs South Africa In Cape Town