Kohli-Rohit row destabilizing Team India

After all the unsavoury happenings around India’s skipper Virat Kohli, it is a bigger body blow that Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the series in South Africa due to hamstring injury.

The developments around Team India ever since Kohli decided to step down as T20 Captain and his squad performing miserably in the UAE edition, have been volatile with the king of the pack suddenly losing all his clout.
One day Kohli was monarch of all he surveyed and the next he was fighting for his position at the helm.

He was sacked unceremoniously as ODI skipper after he reportedly refused to give way to Rohit Sharma. Even though BCCI had a valid argument in saying that there can’t be more than one white ball skipper in the name of stability, the development was too big too soon. Not even a line was mentioned in explanation or as an epitaph to Kohli’s contribution as skipper. Just a statement saying Sharma will replace Kohli amounts to summarily dismissing a power weight in the cricket dispensation.

Yes there was bound to be certain changes going ahead what with the coach, selectors and even the skipper changing guard. But transitions when smooth are acceptable and fruitful.

Ripping apart the team from the top may come with all the drawbacks that are too close to the big ticket events that are round the corner.

Coming to Sharma, he has been long in standing for skippership but it was his own casual in and out of the team existence in his earlier days that delayed his top job despite him having emerged as India’s explosive run machine in the opening slot.

With Kohli not being there for the first Test against South Africa for personal reasons and his vice captain Sharma missing out entirely from the tourney due to injury, it is quite an unstable squad that will be heading into the fast and fiery stadia in South Africa.

India needs to stabilise for the 2022 September T20 World Cup . The rock solid Rahul Dravid has come with as much promise as he showed reluctance for becoming the Team India coach.

Looking ahead maybe the Rohit-Kohli combine in a seamless merger may have been the best thing to do instead of a Kohli raging, disappointed and, thus, not optimum, which may prove to be counter productive. The shorter this epileptic situation is with the Indian cricket team, the better it will be for the sport and it’s soldiers.