It’s a battle between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly, says THIS former Pakistan captain

With Rohit Sharma out injured, KL Rahul is the captain of the ODI team with Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy for the three-match ODI series against South Africa beginning on Wednesday (January 19).

Former India captain Virat Kohli. (Source: Twitter)

Indian cricket has been going through a rollercoaster ride since Virat Kohli suddenly decided to give up Test captaincy on Saturday (January 15) after he was removed as the ODI captain by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Kohli had already pointed fingers at BCCI president Sourav Ganguly for lack of clarity regarding ODI captaincy, which was handed over to Rohit Sharma.

With Rohit out injured, KL Rahul is the captain of the ODI team with Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy for the three-match ODI series against South Africa beginning on Wednesday (January 19). Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif feels there’s an apparent ‘tiff’ between the two no matter what they say publicly.

“The real reason why these things happen is because you have a tiff with the board. Irrespective of what Virat says that it's his decision or what Sourav Ganguly tweets, this is battle of two stalwarts,” Latif said in a YouTube video on Caught Behind.

Former India captain Ganguly had claimed that he had asked Kohli not to give up T20I captaincy, the latter said that no one in the board asked him against doing so. While announcing his decision to leave T20I captaincy, Kohli had said that he intends to continue leading India in ODIs and Tests. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Latif feels the entire saga has unsettled not just Kohli but the entire Indian cricket.

Under Virats leadership Indian cricket has made rapid strides in all formats of the game ..his decision is a personal one and bcci respects it immensely ..he will be an important member to take this team to newer heights in the future.A great player.well done ..@BCCI @imVkohli

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) January 15, 2022

“Some people are emotional. They know when and how to provoke Kohli. When he announced that he won’t captain India in T20Is after the World Cup, he was removed as ODI captain as well. You haven’t only unsettled Kohli, you’ve unsettled Indian cricket,” he explained.

Kohli, still only 33 years old, has been India’s greatest captain in the Test format. He had won 40 out of the 68 Tests that he has led the side.