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Virat Kohli denies prior discussion over ODI captaincy, says was only ‘informed’ about his removal

Former India ODI captain and current India Test skipper Virat Kohli has dropped a big bomb on the Indian selectors and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly as he nullified all his claims of having a thorough discussion before removal of the former as India ODI captain. Kohli said that he was just informed about the board’s decision after the Test squad for India’s South Africa tour was announced. The 33-year-old also debunked the claims of having a thorough discussion with him om how the white ball and red ball captaincy are going to be a different ball game together as claimed by Ganguly during an interview with a news channel on the same issue. “I was contacted one-and-a-half hour before the Test team was selected. There was no prior communication (on team selection and change of captaincy). The chief selector discussed the Test team,” Kohli said in a press conference on Wednesday. “And in the end, I was told that I won’t be the captain and I said it's fine. After the meeting, we had a brief chat and that's it,” he further added. This press conference will now leave BCCI scampering for reasons to defend what they have said before as it clearly shows that there was a miscommunication on part of the board with the caption as well as the media.

Virat Kohli counters Ganguly's claims, says BCCI accepted my resignation from T20I without hesitation

India Test skipper Virat Kohli has opened up for the first time after being sacked from the ODI captaincy and has revealed that the BCCI wasn’t really hesitant on him stepping down as the T20I captain. “When I left T20 captaincy, I approached BCCI first about my decision and they accepted without any hesitancy without asking me to stay. I was always clear about my communication,” said in a press conference. Kohli was earlier removed as the ODI captain after he left the T20I captaincy. The BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had then said that the selectors weren’t really keen on having two captains in limited-overs format and that’s why the baton was handed over to Rohit Sharma in the ODIs as well after the T20Is. “We had requested Virat not to step down as T20 captain but he didn’t want to continue as captain. So, the selectors felt that they cannot have two white ball captains in two white-ball formats. That’s too much of leadership,” BCCI president said. The Indian team is slated to travel to South Africa for three Tests and as many ODIs. While the Test series begins on December 26 in Centurion, the ODIs are scheduled to commence on January 19, 2022 in Paarl. Earlier, Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the Test series with a hamstring injury. Sharma was also named the vice captain of the Test side.

Virat Kohli dismisses reports of his break, confirms availability for South Africa ODI series

Quashing all the allegations that he has opted out of the ODI series against India which fuelled a lot of speculations about his relationship with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli announced his availability for the ODI leg of the tour of South Africa. There were media reports suggesting that Kohli has sought a break from the game and would return after featuring in the three-match long Test series starting December 26. Kohli doubled down in his reply and asked the credibility of the source leaking wrong information and fuelling speculations. He reiterated that he has not asked of any rest during the ODI series and will stay back in South Africa. "I am available for the ODI series. Do not ask me these questions! Ask those writing these things. I am always available. A few things came out in the past as well which were also not true. All those who are writing, their sources are not credible. Few people told I was attending events and all. All these sources are not credible. I'm available for the series. I haven't asked for any rest,” Kohli said in the press conference before embarking on the tour of South Africa. Kohli was sacked from ODI captaincy last week when selectors announced the squad for the Test series against South Africa. In the press release announcing the Test squad, the BCCI added merely one sentence to make public the selectors’ decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain in place of Kohli.

Women’s World Cup 2022: India to begin its campaign with clash against arch-rivals Pakistan

It will be an India vs Pakistan clash to kick off the Women’s ODI World Cup 2022 campaign for the India Women’s team in New Zealand. The match will take place on March 6 at the Bay Oval in Tauranga, the same venue which will host the opening clash of the World Cup. The World Cup will open with hosts New Zealand Women facing West Indies Women on March 4, 2022. On the very next day, two other big sporting arch0rivals, Australia and England will square off at Seddon Park in Hamilton on March 5. In the tournament, eight teams will face each other once in a league format and then the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals. In total 31 games will be played across 31 days and the cities of Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington will host the entire tournament. Apart from hosts New Zealand, India, Australia, England and South Africa qualified for the showpiece 50 over event on the basis of their top-four ranking the ICC Women’s Championship 2017-21. The remaining three teams i.e. Bangladesh, West Indies and Pakistan were to go through a global qualifier event with seven other teams. But the tournament was cut short in the middle due to Omicron and thus these top-ranked teams among the 10 teams qualified on the basis of ICC rankings. The first semi-final will be played at The Basin Reserve in Wellington on 30 March while The Hagley Oval in Christchurch will host the second semi-final (31 March) and the final (3 April). Both the semi-finals and the finals will have a reserve day in place.