Virat Kohli may lose ODI captaincy if India fail to reach 20-20 WC semis - Reports

Ahead of the 20-20 World Cup, Indian skipper, Virat Kohli announced that he will step down from his post in T20Is following the showpiece event. The development came after several reports stated that BCCI is not happy with Kohli failing to lead India to world titles and may ask him to give up white-ball captaincy. Notably, India had lost the Test Championship final against New Zealand. However, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly denied the rumours and said they had not pressurized Kohli to vacate his post.

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Now, some other reports are surfacing on the internet where it is being reported that Kohli might lose his ODI captaincy if India fails to reach the semifinals of the 20-20 World Cup. India’s campaign is in jeopardy after losing back to back games against Pakistan and New Zealand. The team cannot qualify for the semifinals on their own and will need some other results to go their way.

“The board is unhappy. And there is serious doubt over his (Virat) ODI captaincy now as well. But three games still left and if India, by any chance, manage to qualify and fight back in the tournament then the scenario could change. But, right now, if you ask me or anybody, Virat is doubtful as ODI captain," News 18 quoted the source.

The source was asked if Rohit Sharma could be named as the India skipper in ODIs as well to which he responded by saying that it’s too early to predict. He added that Rahul Dravid, who is likely to take over the reins of team India, might have a say on who becomes the next India skipper. The source said India might have different skippers for different formats.

“It is too early to name anybody, let the T20 World Cup get over. Rahul Dravid may also join the team as head coach soon. He will be discussed as well. Rohit or anybody else, or Virat continues, everything will be done afterwards. There are chances that India get one captain for T20 and ODI formats and one (Virat) for Tests," he added.

Speaking about Kohli, he has captained India in four global events - the 2017 Champions Cup, 2019 50-over World Cup, Test Championship and the ongoing 20-20 World Cup. However, he could not lead India to a win in any of the tournaments. The team though did well by reaching the finals of Champions Cup and Test Championship and semi-final of the 50-over World Cup.