Picture Credit: BCCI
The speculations over a possible rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has been making headlines for quite some time now and the recent reports of both the top players pulling out themselves from playing under each other have only added fuel to the topic. Now a BCCI official has agreed to rumours and has stated that the manner in which everything has unfolded is "quite unfortunate."
According to the source-based report, the BCCI will invite both the players on a common ground to resolve the matter as the incident regarding the rift between both has brought shame to the nation. "Kohli was adamant to lead the team in the ODI World Cup scheduled to take place in 2023, but similar selectors were stubborn too to have one captain in white-ball formats."
"He didn't take it lightly, due to which he refused to play under Rohit Sharma, who will be leading the side in three ODIs against South Africa. Although Kohli has cited personal reasons for taking off from the ground, nobody's fool enough to understand the real reason behind the same," the top BCCI source was reportedly quoted as saying.
The BCCI official said that the decision to sack Virat Kohli from ODI captaincy was for the benefit of the team but the latter's response was selfish.
Notably, Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the three-match Test series against South Africa for injury concerns. According to the BCCI, Sharma suffered an injury while participating in a training session and has been rested from the Test series, but interestingly the board has confirmed that the newly appointed skipper will be fit to lead the team in ODIs, scheduled for next year in January.
Speaking about the tour, team India is scheduled to play three Tests and as many as ODIs against South Africa. The Test series will begin on December 26 in Centurion. Whereas, the ODI series will commence on January 19.