Kohli dropped a bombshell as he stepped down as skipper after seven years. Mr. Cricket UAE Anis Sajan and Gulf News experts discuss the possible reasons why...
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00:00More than surprised, to be very honest, I'm demolerised as an Indian cricket fan.
00:05I'm frustrated, I'm angry, because I knew this was on the cards.
00:17Hello and welcome to Golf News Straight Back, the chat show all about cricket.
00:22Right, India's most successful Test Captain has quit.
00:26Virat Kohli's shocking decision to step down has been dominating the news.
00:30It came after India lost the Test Series to South Africa 2-1.
00:35And it means that Kohli will no longer be captain in any format of the game after he already quit
00:40from the T20 captaincy last year, and then he was sacked as the ODI captain.
00:46So where does that leave the team and who will replace him?
00:49Well, to talk about all of this, I'm delighted to say I'm joined by Mr Cricket UAE,
00:54Anish Sajjan and Golf News experts, Shyam and Satish.
00:58Welcome to the show, guys.
01:01Anish, how surprised are you by this news?
01:06More than surprised, to be very honest, I'm demolerised as an Indian cricket fan.
01:11I'm frustrated, I'm angry, because I knew this was on the cards.
01:16This was coming in.
01:17The reason I am saying this, because what had developed before India left for South Africa,
01:23where they had suddenly announced that Virat Kohli would be no more the ODI keeper,
01:28and then he had come out with a press conference saying that he was informed about
01:31attacking or removal as ODI captain just an hour before.
01:36And then he goes to play South Africa.
01:38He wins the first Test Match.
01:40And in the middle of the series, the so-called Mr Chetan Sharma comes and says that,
01:47no, we had all informed him.
01:50And then Virat Kohli says he's not going to play the second Test Match.
01:54He doesn't play because of back spasm.
01:55That's what has been said.
01:57He comes and plays the third Test Match.
01:59And he loses that.
02:01We all know what happened.
02:02I don't want to dig into that.
02:03But after the third Test Match, even if he would have won, I knew he's going to announce,
02:08because my inside information had told me that he had already decided that he's going to
02:13give up his captainship.
02:14So very disappointed, very frustrated.
02:16We'll talk about it a while later.
02:17But I have the other guests also to give their opinion.
02:21OK, look, there are loads of rumors flying around as to why he has stepped down.
02:26Some people are still saying that he's annoyed with the selectors for removing him as the
02:30ODI captain.
02:31And this is the reason why he stepped down as Test Captain.
02:35Shyam, what factors do you think played a part in his decision to quit as Test Captain?
02:42I can see Virat Kohli is a very proud person.
02:45He doesn't take a slight easily.
02:48I think it all started with his decision to remove him as the ODI captain, which he said
02:53he wasn't consulted.
02:54He was told 45 minutes before the meeting.
02:57And also the conversation with Ganguly, which he denies never took place.
03:03So there's been plenty of stuff in bad faith.
03:05And it didn't come out well, especially coming ahead of a tour to South Africa.
03:13And like Anish said about the Chetan Sharma incident.
03:18So it all comes to the fact that all the board members are ganging up against him.
03:23And Virat Kohli is not somebody who would take things like that lying down.
03:28So he said, OK, enough is enough.
03:30Before you guys push me out, I'm going out on my terms.
03:34OK, let me bring in Satish next.
03:36Satish, when he quit as the T20 captain late last year, he said that he wanted to continue
03:42as the ODI and the test captain.
03:45But controversially, he was removed as the ODI captain.
03:48And now the latest development, which has led to more questions and answers, to be honest.
03:54We can only speculate about the rifts with the BCCI.
03:58But what do you think could be going on behind the scenes for him to stand down like this?
04:02See, first and foremost, the comfort zone.
04:04When he, Ravi Shastri, Arun and all of them were together as a team, it was a well-established
04:10unit which was taking the team forward and they were winning.
04:14And the moment Ravi Shastri, the main man who backed, actually, if you look at,
04:18this is an open secret that when Ganguly was the captain, Dalmia was the president.
04:23So he had the backing of Dalmia.
04:25When Dhoni was the president, Enstein wasn't.
04:27Sorry, Dhoni was the captain, Enstein wasn't the president.
04:29So probably there was a tie, a good camaraderie between them because from Chennai, Super Kings
04:35or wherever.
04:36But the fact remains that with Kohli, there is nobody to back him in the BCCI.
04:41Probably the only person who could back him was as a team unit, the team coach, the head
04:46coach.
04:46When that was the first opening, the gate opened when Ravi Shastri was removed and
04:52Dravid came in.
04:52It doesn't mean that Dravid would have pushed Kohli.
04:55But what has happened is the comfort zone was gone right away.
04:58So maybe that's a time Kohli must have thought, OK, let me be one day Arun test captain and
05:04let me give away the T20.
05:06Again, what has also happened is starting from Dhoni, they have not been pushed out.
05:13They were easing their burden on their own.
05:15They were relinquishing the post just like that.
05:19Nobody told them anything, which was not the case in the past.
05:22So he was setting up for one by one like what Dhoni did.
05:25Maybe first T20, then ODIs, maybe after next year's 50-over World Cup, maybe he would
05:33have done it.
05:34So one by one, things were happening.
05:36But the fact remains that he was pushed out.
05:39And then he must have even thought that, OK, like before, as Shyam said, before they could
05:46push me out, I was a test captain because now they have lost the series.
05:49Now the BCCI has every reason to say that, OK, we have lost the series and we want to
05:53see a new captain.
05:55So maybe that's the reason why he has jumped the gun and done something, maybe on his own.
06:00Maybe, I'm just guessing.
06:01But though Ganguly said that we didn't have any role to play.
06:06But the fact remains that he must have thought, OK, instead of them pushing me out, I'll
06:10go on my own.
06:10And the sad part is he took over the captaincy of all three formats on Jan 15, 2017, and
06:17he quit all three formats on Jan 15, 2022.
06:22What a coincidence.
06:24Anis, he issued a statement saying that the time was right to step down as test captain.
06:31That's what he said in his statement.
06:33But to be honest, it seems like the worst time to step down.
06:35He's played 99 tests.
06:37He's on the verge of playing his 100th.
06:39And surely, you know, if you're going to be playing your 100th test, you've been such
06:42a successful test captain, you want to be the skipper for that 100th match.
06:47So for him to say the time is right seems very odd.
06:50What do you make of the timing of this all?
06:51And do you think he's played into the hands of the selectors?
06:55100 percent, Imran.
06:57I'm glad you said that, which I probably have been harping all along, that he's played
07:02into the hands of the selectors.
07:04The selectors wanted a captain, probably as a puppet as a captain, who could dance to
07:09their tunes.
07:09And I would not use the selectors.
07:11In fact, the selectors are the puppets.
07:12But the guys, the BCCI were running the bracket.
07:15I'm afraid to say the big boys who are running the BCCI have wanted Virat Kohli to dance
07:21to his tunes, which had not happened because when he was appointed captain, if you all
07:25remember, Anil Kumble was, Virat Kohli never wanted Anil Kumble as a coach.
07:31So he found his way out and removed Anil Kumble and he had Ravi Shastri.
07:35And from the time he and Ravi Shastri took over, you see, they made, they executed the
07:41plans in such a way that India from No. 7 became the No. 1 team.
07:45At one time, they were the No. 1 ODI team.
07:47They were No. 1 T20 team.
07:50So what else do you want?
07:51Okay, we did not have an ICC cabinet trophy.
07:53All said and done.
07:54But what I'm trying to say here, like you're trying to ask me that the timing is, because
07:59there was a lot of pressure going on from the time they kept a logic where it said,
08:05because you are stepping down as a T20 captain, sorry, you cannot be an ODI captain.
08:09What do you mean?
08:10What logic does it add?
08:11It says that too much of captainship.
08:13And then when they say that they try to persuade him to be the T20 captain.
08:18But the moment he relinquishes his test captainship, Saurav Ganguly and all the Jayashahs and everybody
08:25says, thank you very much.
08:26You have done a good job.
08:27Why aren't you persuading him?
08:29Boss, wait and come back.
08:30You are the best captain.
08:31You have done wonders.
08:32That means they wanted him to go.
08:34They did not want him.
08:35Simple as it is, Raman.
08:38And this is getting very animated there.
08:40Shan, it's been over two years since he last scored a test century.
08:45Do you think the pressure of captaining the team has had a negative effect on his own
08:48performances with the bat?
08:49And perhaps now his decision to step down is purely down to him wanting to relinquish a
08:55bit of pressure and a bit of responsibilities to hopefully improve his form.
08:59What do you think?
09:01I don't think his captaincy has anything to do with his performance.
09:04If you remember, when he took over as captain, the first three tests which he captained,
09:11he scored centuries.
09:13So actually, the captaincy spurred him to do better.
09:16So he's a guy who loves challenges.
09:19So the captaincy is not a burden for him.
09:22In fact, it is an additional spur for him.
09:24So coming to his lean pass, I mean, it's a lean pass by Kohli standards.
09:30By any average cricketer you look at, it's not.
09:34Look at even this series.
09:36All the innings he's played, I think barring one innings, I think he's done quite well,
09:40in fact.
09:41And not just that, he played what you call pure test class innings.
09:46Especially in the day when he was batting with Rishabh Pant, it was very apparent.
09:50He was pulling up one end and allowing Pant to score from the other end.
09:54So it is a very cerebral kind of innings he's played.
09:57And even the numbers also bear that out.
10:00OK, he may not fill the column of the centuries.
10:04He may not have the three figures to match.
10:06But his scoring has been good and his averages bear that out.
10:10So I firmly believe that this has nothing to do with his performance.
10:15And his giving up his captaincy has nothing to do with his batting.
10:21And it's for all the great work that Kohli has done since 2015, when he was appointed
10:25as test captain.
10:27He's had 68 games as captain.
10:29He's won 40 of them.
10:30I think that's the fourth best record in test captaincy history.
10:35And with the level that the team's been playing right now, the success that he's
10:39given to the team, this decision seems to have come out of nowhere and probably could
10:44set the team back quite a few years.
10:45Do you think there's any chance that the BCCI could go back to Kohli, speak to him,
10:50and possibly try to change his mind and reinstate him as captain?
10:56Imran, you know what?
10:56If they had to do it, they wouldn't have said, thank you very much.
11:00You've done a great job.
11:01Just for all our listeners and all the lovely fans who follow Golf News, not only we are
11:08talking about him as he has won 40 test matches.
11:11I mean, I'm sure all of us know.
11:12But I just want everybody who has been listening or going to listen to this show, he's captain
11:17India in 25 series, won 18.
11:20That is astronomical.
11:22And just lose six.
11:24Secondly, he's the only captain, you know where we're talking about, who has not lost
11:29a single series in India and has lost only two test matches.
11:34I repeat, he's captain India in 21 series here in India.
11:38And he's won all, not 21, I'm saying 11.
11:41Won all of them.
11:42That far speaks.
11:43The third thing, Imran, where winning abroad, he's won it in West Indies.
11:48Okay, now you will say, West Indies is not the same team.
11:51West Indies was the same team which beat England at home.
11:54West Indies was the same team which beat Sri Lanka at home.
11:57Nobody could beat West Indies.
11:58He went there and won twice.
12:00He beat Australia twice.
12:02Second time, he was not around.
12:03But the first time, he started that tempo.
12:06Then he went to England.
12:07Okay, the series was undecided.
12:09He was leading 2-1.
12:10Who knows what would have happened later?
12:12But he won there.
12:13And even this series, when India lost to South Africa, there were questions, oh, India lost
12:18because India was going into the favourite.
12:20They were not going as underdogs.
12:21And one more point I would like to add, Imran, here.
12:24When he started playing, his team started taking wickets.
12:28His fast bowlers, whether it is Ishan Sharma.
12:30Bumrah just came three years ago.
12:32But Ishan Sharma, Bumrah, Mohamed Shami, Siraj, Thakur, all of these guys delivered.
12:38He was a fast bowler's captain.
12:39So what I'm trying to say, he had the backing of his batsmen.
12:43And in spite, like you mentioned about his batting form, his team was doing well.
12:46That means there was a spark in his captainship which was contagious to the team.
12:50And you could see on the field, even when there were no spectators, the guys who were
12:55sitting in the dugout were supporting.
12:57That was the intensity he showed.
12:59He carried his heart on his sleeve.
13:01Like you asked me, India will have a tough time.
13:04I'm afraid God save Team India.
13:05Because now they're going to maybe probably win against Sri Lanka.
13:08But when they go abroad, they will actually realise the importance of Virat Kohli's captainship.
13:14Okay, the cricket world has been reacting to this ball from the blue.
13:18Really has come out of nowhere.
13:19And the big question now is, who is going to be India's next test captain?
13:24Most people are saying Rohit Sharma is a good short-term option.
13:28He's about 34 years old.
13:30He's a good batsman.
13:31He's proven he's a good leader as well.
13:33He's won five IPL titles with Mumbai Indians.
13:36So he could be decent for the short term.
13:39But Sharm, I think I read a piece of you earlier saying that you would give
13:43Rishabh Pant a chance.
13:46What qualities do you think he has to be able to lead a team?
13:50Actually, it's a gamble.
13:52We have not seen any sort of material from Pant.
13:59All we have seen is him leading the Delhi Capitals for one season.
14:04But I'm actually more inspired by his batting.
14:10Of course, he can be reckless at times.
14:12But the thing is, if you look at the Cape Town innings itself, when everybody was floundering,
14:17he lit up the test.
14:18And he actually helped India to a decent score in Australia.
14:24And every time he's been around, he's been able to change the game.
14:28So which reminds me of somebody like Kapil Dev.
14:31See, when Kapil Dev took over the captaincy from Gavaskar, the same kind of arguments
14:36were doled out.
14:38He's a natural cricketer.
14:40He's not a thinking player.
14:41But look what he has done.
14:43He got us the 1983 World Cup.
14:45And Indian cricket has never been the same after that.
14:48So pretty much, I think I would see the same qualities in Pant.
14:54But maybe, if you at least make him a vice captain now, he can learn on the job.
15:02And when the time comes, he can become the captain.
15:05So if you're picking up somebody like Rohit Sharma looks like a shoo-in at the moment.
15:10But if you're picking him, then I think Pant should be made the vice captain so he can
15:15learn on the job.
15:16And when Rohit hangs up his boots, Pant can take over from him.
15:21Anis, do you agree with that?
15:23Or who would you like to see as the next captain?
15:26I really hope that I could answer this.
15:28Like Shyam mentioned, Rishabh Pant, probably we can groom him.
15:32But we haven't seen anything.
15:34Captaining a test match is very different than captaining a T20.
15:38Mind you, because T20 is an unpredictable format.
15:40One player probably can take the game away from you.
15:43The only player who can even come closer to Virat Kohli.
15:47In fact, I don't see anybody coming closer.
15:49We're talking about Rohit Sharma.
15:50But this guy, he probably played two series.
15:53He's injured for the next two series.
15:55So he's also 34 or 35.
15:57In fact, he's two years older to Virat Kohli.
16:00So if you want to groom a young captain, you can only see Rishabh Pant.
16:05If you talk about KL Rahul, well, I'm afraid I'm not so much convinced about his captainship.
16:09Because I've seen him captaining the Punjab Kings and the second test match.
16:14He's a little more of a defensive captain.
16:16So he's work under progress, you can say.
16:18At the moment, I don't see anybody who's even coming closer to him.
16:22In fact, worldwide, people talk about Virat Kohli is one of those captains who is on the face.
16:28One of the reasons, you know, I'm sorry, going across from your topic that who is the captain.
16:32He was not liked by some people.
16:34There were some people who said that he had an attitude.
16:37It was his attitude which made India win test matches abroad.
16:41Because before, when he used to go abroad, he used to be said,
16:43oh no, these teams, they can't do anything.
16:46But now, oppositions, when they play India, they feel,
16:49no, this is the captain who leads from the front and leads by example.
16:53But now, if you're talking about Rohit Sharma, you're talking about KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant,
17:00only time will say this guy has played 99 test matches, come on.
17:03Having average of 15 all formats.
17:06I mean, there's nobody even close to him.
17:08Imran, I feel sorry if I have to answer your question.
17:11I believe they'll have to make another Virat Kohli reborn.
17:16And I don't know anybody at the moment even closer to him.
17:19Satish, what about you?
17:20What do you think?
17:20Who's going to be the next captain?
17:21Who would you like to be the next captain?
17:24See, for that, before that, I'll just go back to one question.
17:27Like Anisbhai, I'll go back.
17:30After taking over as a captain, Virat Kohli in 68 tests, he scored 20 centuries.
17:36So basically, what is happening is taking up the responsibility.
17:39We need somebody who can take up the responsibility
17:42and thrive under that kind of a pressure.
17:44A leading Indian team is not easy because you're carrying a billion dreams.
17:49So it's going to be a tough job.
17:51In that way, I would go with Shyam saying that Pant is shown that
17:56he can carry that responsibility because they were better beat in Australia,
17:59beat in Cape Town.
18:01He has done that important innings which gave the team that extra edge
18:07and went on to win that test.
18:09So I would go with Pant because for one reason, he's a natural.
18:12And the second is, he actually gets his performance better under pressure,
18:17which is what exactly Kohli did.
18:19And Pant has shown that under pressure, you can depend on him
18:23and he can come up with a big knock like a century.
18:26So again, I would completely agree with Anisbhai
18:29because you can't replace Kohli.
18:31But if somebody who can come in and do something very similar,
18:35again, Pant is an aggressive player because if you want,
18:40if you hear the microphones, you will see him talking to the batsman,
18:43he's nailing him, sledging them and making their lives miserable.
18:47And he doesn't know, like he loves to go and carry the attack to the opposition,
18:53be it verbally or with his bat.
18:56So I would say Pant will be somewhere very similar to what Kohli has done
19:01because as again, like Anisbhai said,
19:06he's created the bowlers who could take 20 wickets more than anything.
19:10That's the key in test matches.
19:12And another aspect which I have written in my copy also,
19:15which today the reason why we are doing well across the world
19:19is because of the fitness,
19:21the fitness regimen which he brought to the Indian team.
19:24And today you see so many good players have not made it to the Indian team
19:28just because they are not fit.
19:30There are many who have failed the fitness test,
19:32but still they couldn't make it to the Indian team.
19:34So all this, if you put together as a composite unit
19:38and look at it as a captain,
19:40I would say Pant would be fitting somewhere about 60% of what Kohli could do
19:46and nowhere closer to 80 or 90%.
19:49But again, giving it to Rohit Sharma is a great batsman.
19:53I would say that he's a fantastic cricketer,
19:56but it's a retrograde step because he won't be there for a longer time.
20:00He can be a stopgap.
20:01Maximum two years, Sharma.
20:04You take it.
20:04Yeah, correct.
20:05In order of dropping the gun.
20:07If he stays for two years as captain,
20:09and when I say stay, you got to play all test matches like Virat Kohli played.
20:13Virat Kohli hardly made the test match.
20:16And the sad part is,
20:18if he had not missed that one test match in the second test,
20:21he would have played his 100th in Cape Town.
20:24The final test.
20:25That should have been, you know, like maybe that was his plan.
20:28He wanted to quit his captaincy after playing that 100th,
20:31but somehow that didn't work out because of the back spasm,
20:34which stopped him from playing that 100th test.
20:36He plays now 99 because of that.
20:38So I would say I would still go with punt
20:40because Rahul had showed that he can't handle that pressure in the second test.
20:45So I would try to go with punt.
20:48All right.
20:49Well, this story is going to rumble on for some time,
20:51but unfortunately, our time is up.
20:53So thanks to my guests for coming on tonight.
20:55Meanwhile, don't forget to head to golfnews.com
20:57for all the latest and breaking news
20:59and everything that's going on around the world.
21:00That's all from us.
21:01Stay safe.
21:02See you next time and good night.