Chetan Sharma: The chief selector opened up on how the former white-ball captain was informed about his recent demotion.
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Former India fast bowler and current chief selector of the national team Chetan Sharma considers the decision of having one white-ball captain as a “hard” one. The decision was hard more so because its execution resulted in former white-ball captain Virat Kohli’s ODI demotion.
“It was the decision of the selectors to have one white-ball captain,” Sharma told reporters in a virtual press conference. “It was a hard decision, but selectors have to take hard decisions. You take hard decisions even while making the Playing XI. I know Virat [Kohli] is an important player for us in the coming days and coming years.”
Kohli, who had decided to step down from T20I captaincy, was eventually asked to vacate the ODI leadership role as the five selectors didn’t want two white-ball captains. However, what created a furore among fans was the contrasting statements made by BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Kohli. While Kohli highlighted a communication gap between him and the board, Ganguly had spoken of the otherwise previously.
Chetan Sharma shares his version of Virat Kohli captaincy controversy
Addressing a press conference for the first time on this matter, Sharma talked about how the selection committee and BCCI officials were left surprised when Kohli informed about his decision to quit T20I captaincy. Sharma further talked about how he advised Kohli to continue leading India across formats.
“When the meeting started, it [Kohli stepping down as T20I captain] was a surprise for everyone. With the World Cup coming up, that news surprised us.
“Everyone in the meeting said that you should think about your decision and we can speak about it after the World Cup. We all felt that it will affect the [performance at ICC T20] World Cup. It was told to Virat, for the sake of the Indian team, please continue as the captain,” Sharma mentioned.
Further sharing his version of the story, Sharma pointed out his version of the story where he personally had called Kohli. Sharma’s explanation, however, doesn’t match with Kohli’s claim that he wasn’t contacted by the board until one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting on December 8.
“As soon as the selection committee came to the point [of having one white-ball captain], I called up Virat in the afternoon. Because it was a Test selection, we didn’t want him to inform him in the selection meeting. After the meeting, we informed him that there will be one white-ball captain. We had a good conversation and he agreed with us,” Sharma further said.
