The richest board in world cricket has been in the news recently and it’s for all the wrong reasons. It all started on 15 September 2021, when the former Indian captain across all formats, Virat Kohli, relinquished his T20I captaincy. The cricketer announced the same in an Instagram post and cited “immense workload” as the reason behind stepping down. Reports at the time claimed that several selectors were unhappy with Kohli and his team selection in the World Test ChamPionship Final. Overall, his failure to lead India to victory in ICC tournaments reportedly raised questions about his leadership. India’s performance in the T20 World Cup was below average and the team losing a match to Pakistan for the first time in a World Cup created a flutter. Experts, including Shoaib Akhtar, claimed that this resulted from differences within the team. One camp supported Kohli, and the other Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians captain. Despite Kohli’s interest in continuing as India’s Test and ODI captain, the BCCI, on 8 December 2021, surprisingly announced the appointment of Rohit Sharma as the new ODI skipper. The selectors justified it by pointing out that having two captains for white ball cricket might be confusing. In a press conference, the President of BCCI, Sourav Ganguly, said, “We (BCCI) had requested Virat not to step down as T20I captain.” However, when India was leaving for their South Africa tour, Kohli, in an interview, said that he was not informed about the changes , in ODI captaincy defying Ganguly’s claims. He further mentioned that the chief selector, Chetan Sharma, delivered the news right before ending the call after discussing the team for the tour. The statement from the former captain generated much criticism towards Ganguly and the BCCI, with fans asking the former to step down. The Saha Saga Not just that, the BCCI also recently found itself in a soup when the selectors announced the Sri Lanka series squad, with many senior players finding themselves dropped from the team, including Wriddhiman Saha. In an interview, he explained how the Indian coach, Rahul Dravid, told him not to expect his name in the squad. Saha said Dravid had mentioned that the board was looking for a new face and indicated that he should consider retirement. The Indian wicketkeeper further pointed out that Ganguly had texted him after his unbeaten 61 against New Zealand in Kanpur, saying, “As long as I am here, you would be in the team.” Saha’s statement reinforced the belief among supporters that what Dada speaks and does are different. With these developments over the last few months, miscommunication within the board and team seems evident. Ironically, the man known as the most fearless cricketer has regressed in his administrative role — lacking honesty and transparency Meanwhile, in an episode which generated further controversy recently, Saha – in February – posted a screenshot of a journalist allegedly threatening him, leading to the likes of Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh expressing support for the 37-year-old wicketkeeper.
10 Apr 2022
Abhishek Anand
