New Delhi: The Indian cricket team had to face severe criticism after a heart-breaking eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final (WTC Final). Just weeks before the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli had shocked the fans by announcing his decision to step down as team India skipper after the marquee event.
Virat's big announcement came out of nowhere and had left the cricket pundits and fans making speculations about what could possibly have been the reason behind the star batsman's bold move. Was it the workload?
Well, now, according to 'The New Indian Express' report, a few senior players had shown reservations over playing under Virat as a captain after India's WTC Final loss back in June, at the Rose Bowl. The report further suggested that at least two senior players had complained to BCCI secretary Jay Shah against Kohli.
During that time, while Pujara was dealing with some harsh criticism for his strike-rate, India's Test deputy-skipper Ajinkya Rahane was struggling to score runs in the longest format.
As per 'The New Indian Express' report, Kohli had treated Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara harshly inside the dressing room and the entire episode seemed to have turned out into a huge problem.
The report also stated that after the T20 World Cup, BCCI will also take a call on Virat Kohli’s future as team India's captain in the 50-overs format.
“If you don’t put their bowlers under pressure then they have the fitness and the consistency to bowl long spells and keep bowling all day in the same areas and trouble you, and the more momentum you give them, then invariably they get the breakthroughs they want,” Virat Kohli was quoted as saying after team India's defeat.
“The mindset has to be to score runs and find ways to score runs. You can’t be too worried about getting out because you are [then] bringing the bowler into the game completely,” he added.