In a single line attached to a statement on other matters, the BCCI reversed its decision and decided that damage limitation was necessary following Kohli’s dismissal as ODI captain. Kohli’s leadership was praised in a tweet post-script. Thus, Sourav Ganguly, the organization’s president, decided to take matters into his own hands.
According to Ganguly, Kohli resigned as the ODI captain. Ganguly personally requested that Kohli not resign from the T20 captaincy, due to the rule that two captains in a white-ball format were too many. The reason for this is not obvious, not least because as a cricketing format, an ODI is closer to Test cricket than the shortest version of the game, but let’s not get caught up in the logic of Ganguly’s assertion. Rather than focusing on its effect, think about its purpose.
According to Ganguly, several prominent news stories, citing anonymous sources, suggested that Kohli, in a tit-for-tat move, decided not to play in the ODI series to avoid playing under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. It was blatantly false to claim that he had not taken part in the ODI series. His exclusion was not justified. While Kohli was sacked, the Board had the option of keeping its counsel. ”After a few ripples of controversy, it would have become yesterday’s news. It tells you everything you need to know about our time’s contemptible public culture that the Board’s president would go out of their way to misrepresent one of its greats,” Ganguly stated.
”Despite being rich and famous, Kohli took a courageous stand against insinuations and bullying at a time when India’s institutions are opaquely controlled by political placemen like Jay Shah”, concluded Ganguly.
