Former India International Atul Wassan Says Not the Selectors, It is Board’s Call to Strip Virat Kohli From ODI Captaincy

'It's Not the Selectors', Ex Cricketer Mentions Other Name Behind Virat Kohli Captaincy Relinquishment

New Delhi: The controversial saga between Virat Kohli and BCCI is now the trending topic in world cricket and many cricketers have given their personal opinion on the debatable topic. Latest on the list is former India cricketer, Atul Wassan. According to Wassan he believes that it’s not the selectors but it’s the board which has taken the decision to remove Kohli entirely from white-ball captaincy.

“I think Virat wanted to carry on till the 2023 World Cup, and they have done well in one-day cricket. We have not won any big trophy but generally we have done well. He is the premium one-day batter in the world. It could have been handled better and there was no need to jump to an immediate reaction. Unless the board wants to send out a signal, that ‘Virat ok, enough is enough. You are not doing well and we haven’t won much, so this is a penalty’. That’s what happened. It is not the selectors’ call; it is the board’s decision,” Wassan told to CNN News18.

The former cricketer believes that a number of factors contributed to the decision made by BCCI, from Kohli’s form to Shastri stepping down from his role as head coach.

“It’s a culmination of many things, and the biggest factor is Virat’s form. That has contributed. If Virat was doing well and even if India did not win, nobody would have touched him, and also Ravi Shastri’s moving out. They worked really well. With Ravi Shastri going out and a new style of thinking coming in Rahul Dravid is a no-nonsense guy. He would call it right away. And probably that rankling of what happened with Anil Kumble as well,” Wassan said.

“All these things got piled up to point where people said, ‘alright, let us look forward’. Virat would feel that he has been hard done by. A collective thought must have circulated among the top brass. They must have thought that this is the right time to clip Kohli’s wings so that he isn’t allowed to what he likes, and especially with Ravi no longer being there.”