NEW DELHI: In an announcement made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Twitter on Wednesday night, it was revealed that Virat Kohli will be replaced by Rohit Sharma as captain in ODIs going forward.
The decision has been criticised by pundits, fans, and neutral observers who believe that Kohli deserved a better send-off. It is pertinent to mention here that Kohli had announced to step down from captaincy in T20Is before the T20 World Cup, stating that the campaign would be his last as T20I captain, and he would continue to captain India in ODIs and Tests.
It is now being reported that Kohli was asked to step down from captaincy in ODIs as well, but he refused to do so. Kohli had terrific numbers as captain in the ODIs, scoring 5449 runs in 95 games with 21 centuries and 27 fifties.
As captain, his win percentage was 70.43 in ODIs. India won 65 and lost 27 of the 95 games under his watch. However, India also lost two crucial games under his captaincy that cost them two different ICC trophies in last four years. They lost the Champions Trophy Final 2017 to their arch-rivals Pakistan in a lop-sided contest, and the World Cup 2019 semifinal to New Zealand who ended India’s dream of winning another World Cup.