The former Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally has regained his lost form, registering back-to-back fifties in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. After the end of Kohli’s captaincies from the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) and the national fold, the questions about his relationship with the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) were raised, and assumptions got even more robust with time.
Kohli was seen struggling on the field even after easing the captaincy pressure. His century drought yet continues, but he seems to be in form again, scoring plenty of runs in Asia Cup as the fans hope this form continues for long. Before the event started, the ex-captain rested for a month, which was the longest gap of his career since he took charge of the duties as an Indian cricketer.
Some assumed that he was sidelined by the board on purpose following the heated things between him and BCCI after Rohit Sharma was declared skipper for all three formats. But the cricketer clarified that it was his own decision to rest, easing the mental pressure.
On multiple occasions, the 33-year-old has talked about his unstable mental condition following striving on the field to amass some quality runs. Recently, he named MS Dhoni as the only person to reach him after he dropped the Test captaincy after being sacked from ODI captaincy.
Relating to the context, he decided to give up T20I captaincy by the end of the T20 World Cup 2021 and continued to lead in ODIs and Tests. However, the BCCI did not want separate captains for the limited-over format and replaced him with Sharma. Kohli later denied leading solely in Tests since it was out of his plan and skipped the post, no more being Indian skipper.
“When I left Test captaincy, I only received a message from one person and I have played with that person in the past. That person is MS Dhoni, anyone else did not message me. Many people have my number, and there are many people who give me suggestions on the TV,”
His ‘lack of support’ claim is not adored by the board as one of the officials was too quick to note and respond. A senior BCCI official told InsideSport that,
“Virat has had the backing of everyone. From his teammates to everyone at the BCCI. To say that he did not get the support, is not true. He was granted a break to rejuvenate, he got frequent rest. Even everyone at BCCI wished him on social media when he stepped down from Test captaincy. So, I don’t know what he is talking about,”
