Virat Kohli to skip 3 matches ODI series against South Africa: In what comes as a shocker for the BCCI and Indian cricket fans, red ball captain Virat Kohli is likely to pull out of the upcoming 3 matches One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa. A report in Insidesport reported, the cricketer has informed the same to the Indian cricket board.
Team India is scheduled to travel to South Africa for a three matches Test and Three matches ODI series. The tour will begin on 26th December with the red ball matches.
Virat Kohli, who has been recently sacked from ODI captaincy, cited that the ODI series against the Rainbow nation coincides with his daughter’s first birthday hence he won’t be available.
Earlier, in the day, the BCCI in a statement ruled out new test vice-captain Rohit Sharma after he sustained a serious hamstring injury while practicing in Mumbai. “Rohit sustained a left hamstring injury & will not be available for the 3 match test series,” said BCCI in a statement.
If Virat makes himself unavailable for the ODI series, this will be a massive blow for team India. Moreover, Rohit Sharma’s participation in the ODI series is still under thick clouds as his hamstring injury is deemed serious.
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It remains to be seen how the BCCI reacts to the situation as the recent turmoil in the Indian captaincy hasn’t been dissolved completely.
Ever since the leadership change happened, Virat hasn’t issued any statement nor talked about the same publicly. Though he has been active on social media for various brand promotions, he hasn’t uttered a word on the sensitive matter of ODI captaincy.
Earlier, some reports indicated that Rohit Sharma before taking T20I captaincy demanded a comprehensive hold of the white ball leadership. Sharma was reported to have shown reluctance in taking T20I leadership solely.
Some close sources say that Virat Kohli was surprised with his removal from ODI captaincy. “He was taken aback with the development.”
“I haven’t talked to him (Virat Kohli) yet. His phone is switched off for some reason. But as far as my opinion is concerned, he had specifically stepped down from T20 captaincy and the selectors should’ve straightaway asked him to step down from both the white-ball formats or not step down at all,” Rajkumar Sharma, Virat’s childhood coach, said on Khelneeti podcast.
Though KL Rahul has been earlier appointed Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the T20I format, the vice-captain of ODIs is yet to be revealed by the BCCI. It will be interesting to see who takes up the leadership charge if Rohit Sharma and Virat both become unavailable for the ODI series.
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