Fans were surely shocked but not surprised after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took the decision to sack Virat Kohli as the captain of the ODI side and replace him with T20 captain Rohit Sharma. The Hitman has also been appointed as the vice-captain of the Test side, replacing fellow Mumbaikar Ajinkya Rahane.
While many expected Kohli, who remains the Test captain, to lead India in the 50-overs World Cup on home soil in 2023 but the board opted for a single white-ball skipper.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee decided to name Mr Rohit Sharma as the captain of the ODI & T20I teams going forward,” board secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
The Mumbai Indians (MI) captain had first become a part of the leadership group in the year 2017 when he was named Team India’s vice-captain before the Sri Lanka tour.
However, the now ex-skipper had seen a future captain in the opening batter way back in 2013. Talking about the same at an event eight years ago, Kohli had named Rohit as one of the contenders to take up captaincy apart from him and Dhoni, who was leading the team in all formats back then.
“Rohit has a tremendous cricketing brain. I often take his advice during matches. He has shown his capability while leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL,” Kohli had said upon being asked who can lead Team India.
As far as Kohli is concerned, he has a stellar 72.65 ODI average and more than 5,000 runs with 21 ODI hundred in 95 matches. He had joined Team India’s leadership group in 2012 and made his captaincy debut the next year.
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