'Nobody is bigger than the game': Twitter slams Virat Kohli for skipping South Africa ODIs

If reports are to be believed, India skipper Virat Kohli is all set to skip the ODI series against South Africa due to personal reasons. Kohli reportedly wants to go on a vacation to celebrate his daughter's first birthday.

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However, the fans speculate that Kohli is skipping the ODIs to express his displeasure on BCCI's decision to strip him of his leadership duties in ODIs. Notably, Kohli wanted to continue leading the ODI team but BCCI wanted one skipper for the limited-overs format. They requested Kohli to not step down as T20I captain but when he didn't agree, BCCI dropped him as the ODI captain and gave the leadership reins to Rohit Sharma.

As soon as the news of Kohli missing the series came to light, Twitter went berserk and lashed out at Virat Kohli.

Here's the best tweets

Highly disappointed that Virat is making himself unavailable for the ODI series against SA for his daughter’s birthday. If that’s so, I won’t defend him in any way. It’s highly unprofessional of him.

But I get a feeling there might be some other reason. #ViratKohli #IndvsSA

— Dr. Palak Singh (@thatsmePalak) December 14, 2021

@ImRo45 out of test series due to injury and @imVkohli will take break from ODI series.. Wowww what an award winning movie script Courtesy: @BCCI 👏🏻👏🏻

— Aman Jha (@AmanJha68865006) December 14, 2021

BCCI is becoming toxic... No idea what they're trying to do. @imVkohli out of ODI series to take a break unbelievable. Everything is not good between current captain and outgoing captain. BCCI have to act responsibly otherwise it will be too late #BCCI https://t.co/z19JrmWaF0

— Aman Jha (@AmanJha68865006) December 14, 2021

No Rohit Sharma, No Virat Kohli

Ye to sach mein NEW ERA aa gaya 😉#IndvsSA #INDvSA #CricketTwitter

— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) December 14, 2021

Nobody is bigger than the game. That's the tweet. Respect the game. Crores of kids dream to don the INDIA jersey. If it was earned then, it should be earned now. Personal chutti lena hai to work in 9 to 5 job. @BCCI @imVkohli @ImRo45

— Ansuman (@ansumanpaikray) December 14, 2021

Worrying portrayal by sections of Media on @ImRo45 and @imVkohli and their reasons for missing each other in the Test’s and ODIs in SA. @BCCI someone has to watch this closely. Players do have their lives, and its not always what one sees by naked eyes alone. @bhogleharsha

— IndianFromThane (@Indianfromthane) December 14, 2021

No Rohit Sharma, No Virat Kohli

Ye to sach mein NEW ERA aa gaya 😉#IndvsSA #INDvSA #CricketTwitter

— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) December 14, 2021

Meanwhile, skipper Rohit Sharma could also miss the series owing to an injury. The batter picked up the injury while practicing in Mumbai for the tour. The injury has ruled him out of the Test series and his participation in the ODIs is in major doubt.

The speculations of a rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has also been doing rounds for a while. However, both Kohli and Rohit have time and time again denied such rumours. Recent;y, Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Virat Kohli for turning Indian team into a ruthless unit.

“He’s (Virat) put the team in a situation where there is no looking back. Those five years he has led the team, he led from the front every time we stepped onto the park. There was clear grit and determination to win every game. That was the message to the entire squad,” said Rohit Sharma.

“We had a great time playing under him. I have played a lot of cricket with him, I have enjoyed each and every moment and I’ll still continue to do that. We need to keep getting better as a team and as individuals and that will be the focus not just for me but for the entire squad moving forward,” he added.