Chetan Sharma, Chairman of Selectors, found himself in a huge predicament on Tuesday as he revealed the details of the disagreement between former skipper Virat Kohli and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly back in December 2021.
Sharma was taken off guard when the news channel conducted a sting operation. Kohli had contradicted Ganguly’s statement that the Board asked him not to resign as T20I captain during a pre-departure press conference for India’s tour to South Africa. Kohli had clarified that BCCI had received his decision to resign from T20I captaincy very well and had not discouraged him from taking this step.
Sharma, who was a key part of the group that made the decision, declared that Kohli was not being truthful. He recalled that Ganguly had suggested to Kohli that he should reconsider his decision to give up the captaincy, but that this had gone unheard due to the presence of nine other people in the video conference, leaving Kohli unaware of the recommendation.
When asked again if Virat was telling the truth, Sharma responded that they were uncertain; they were unsure of why Virat decided to bring up the topic in the first place, as the press conference was meant to be about the team and not about him. Sharma points out that it was wrong for someone of Kohli’s reputation to challenge the BCCI president.
When a disagreement arises between a player and the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it is highly risky as it puts the player at odds with the BCCI. We may not know who was in the right and who was in the wrong until later, but it is a direct challenge to the BCCI and the player is likely to be the one who suffers the consequences.
