Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli is reportedly not going to skip the three-match series of the forthcoming tour of South Africa scheduled to be held in mid-January.
Speculations have been rife on the matter since some reports emerged from December 13 that the 33-year-old could give the ODI series a miss as to spend some time with his family near the first birthday of his daughter.
Cricbuzz dispelled those rumours with confirmation from multiple sources within the BCCI, including some office-bearers. The report states there has been no formal request from Kohli’s end to be given a break for the ODIs that follow the Test series.
“There is no truth in reports of Virat skipping the ODIs. He is a totally committed cricketer and there is no doubt about his participation.”
a top BCCI member was quoted as saying.
The reports of Kohli skipping the ODIs gained immediate attention as fans continue to smell a case of a potential rift between the great batter and the Indian board after his controversial sacking from the captaincy post.
Since the board did no press conference or offered any official explanation in this regard, fans have speculated that Kohli is aggrieved over the call to remove him from the 50-over leadership.
Lack of proper communication from the board with the fans about Kohli’s ODI captaincy has led to a massive uproar over social media. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and his apex council are being accused of creating an atmosphere that spoils his relationship with captaincy successor Rohit Sharma.
Rohit, who was appointed the team’s T20I skipper when Kohli decided to relinquish the post from the shortest format after the T20 World Cup in UAE, will also be India’s ODI captain “going forward”, that is all the BCCI stated in their release which coincided with the selection for the Tests in South Africa.
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On December 15, when Kohli does a customary pre-tour press conference in Mumbai, he is expected to clear some air on the matter.
But while Kohli’s availability seems clear, what is in doubt now is whether Rohit will be there for his first series as the full-time ODI captain. The opening batter, who is already ruled out of the Tests due to an untimely hamstring injury, is in the race against time to recover and be ready for the ODIs against the Proteas.
The tour begins with the first of three Tests on December 26. The ODI series kicks-off on January 19.
