Picture Credit: BCCI
While Virat Kohli has already announced his decision to step down as the captain of the shortest format in international cricket after the T20 World Cup, recent reports suggest that he could even lose his leadership in ODIs and Test match cricket. This is because a few members of the Indian cricket team are reportedly miffed with the captain and the issues only escalated after the team lost the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton.
Notably, Kohli had spoken about the "lack of intent" while speaking to media after the titular clash of the inaugural World Test Championship which did not go down well with the players. A senior member even spoke to BCCI secretary Jay Shah about the same.
"Kohli is losing control. He has lost respect and some of the players are not liking his attitude. He is no more an inspirational leader and he doesn’t earn the players’ respect. Some of them have reached their limits when it comes to dealing with him," the sources close to the development told Telegraph India.
Virat shouted at one of the coaches for pointing out flaws in batting technique
Virat also reportedly shouted at one of the coaches when the latter tried to help him with a few technical issues.
"That Kohli failed to play big innings has also complicated the issue. Recently, one of the coaches offered some suggestions at nets but the captain shot back saying ‘don’t confuse me’. He’s just failed to handle it and it’s showing in his aggressive behaviour,” the sources further added.
In the report, the sources go on to compare Virat with Rohit. While Virat is an aggressive leader, Rohit is often cool and calm and is much like Ajinkya Rahane whose leadership brought about a breath of fresh air in the Test team during their tour of Australia in 2020-21.
It was even revealed that youngsters in the squad consider Rohit as their elder brother and have trust in him.
"Rohit, who should be made captain, is always cool, much like Ajinkya Rahane who brought in a breath of fresh air in Australia. Rohit is like an elder brother and the youngsters trust him," the source said.