Editorial: Breakdown of communication

The issue is centred on the removal of Kohli as captain of the One-Day International (ODI) format, and replacing him with Rohit Sharma, two hours before the squad for the South Africa series was announced (as per Kohli’s statement). The ineptitude with which the transition was handled paints Ganguly in a poor light. After all, the change of guard is an emotive issue and it needs to be handled with grace. More so, as in India, not a single cricket captain has ever been granted the privilege to exit on his own terms. This time many believed the scenario would change as Ganguly is a former cricket captain, and a towering personality, at that.

But it has worked in a counter-intuitive manner with both Ganguly and Kohli making contradictory statements, and the former’s integrity being called into question. Dada’s studied silence which implied that the BCCI would resolve the issue internally has only added to the bewilderment of spectators and stakeholders. It might be recalled that when Kohli had decided to step down as the captain of T20 before this year’s T20 ICC World Cup, the BCCI had remained seemingly unruffled. After India crashed out of the World Cup in an unremarkable manner, the selectors decided they didn’t want two white-ball captains.

Having awarded the ODI captaincy to Sharma, the decision was announced with a terse statement without specifying any reasons. It is likely that Kohli regarded BCCI’s decision as an affront to his captaincy record which reads a respectable 68% in ODIs. Nevertheless, in a show of maturity, Kohli waited for the pre-departure virtual press meet ahead of the South Africa tour to put forth his version of the narrative. He also put an end to rumours regarding his removal as captain and his alleged rift with Sharma.

Such demotions have had precedents in the national passion for many decades. The Greg Chappell- Ganguly controversy (2005-2006) is a case in point. The crisis involved much publicised incidents of infighting between the then newly appointed Team India coach Chappell and the team captain Ganguly. In the aftermath, Ganguly was removed from his post and replaced with Rahul Dravid, who was the Vice-Captain. The Prince of Kolkata was also dropped from the ODI and Test teams subsequently. Following fiery protests in West Bengal and the issue also being raised in the Parliament, Ganguly was welcomed back to the team in both formats as his replacements had failed to rise to the occasion. Reacting to the latest controversy, former India all-rounder Kirti Azad had invoked the example of how in the late 70s, former captain Bishan Singh Bedi was replaced by Sunil Gavaskar, who was in turn replaced by S Venkataraghavan.

In hindsight, it seems like Ganguly should have refrained from commenting on Kohli as his action reflected a deficit of trust, especially around the time when the team was to embark on a crucial overseas tournament. This imbroglio has also left many wondering why the selectors acted with such haste, considering there has been no ODI cricket in the recent past and the T20 decision was already made for the Board. It is anybody’s guess as to how the Ganguly-Kohli feud will unfold over the coming few weeks.

Kohli now leads India’s Test team in the three-match series in South Africa that kicked off on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sharma, who is incapacitated with a hamstring injury, is set to join his mates next month and lead the ODI team from Jan 19, 2022, subject to his recovery. So it’s essential that the men in blue get past their differences and put their best foot forward. And not make it look like they’re taking one for the team, while they are at it.