Ex-PAK captain blames BCCI for Virat Kohli’s decision to quit as India’s test captain

The former Pakistani skipper felt that step by step BCCI created an environment that forced Virat Kohli to give up his role in the game’s longest format.

Virat Kohli was India’s test captain from 2014 to 2022. (Photo: Twitter)

New Delhi: Former Pakistani captain Salman Butt claimed stopping Virat Kohli from Indian Test captain should not have happened. Butt also took a look at BCCI and stated that the Indian administration had step by step created a situation for Kohli that forced Kohli to give up his role in 2022.

Kohli first left the captain’s armband in 2021 when he decided to step down as India’s T20I leader after the World Cup in Dubai. He was also subsequently removed as India’s ODI captain, as the BCCI wanted a single skipper for the white-ball format.

Kohli’s decision to step down as India’s Test captain came in after his team lost to South Africa in January 2022, leaving his fans in shock. Butt felt Kohli’s resignation as India captain was a result of miscommunication between a player and management.

“Kohli was a successful captain, and the way he was removed step by step… he gave it away himself. I’ve read a lot of comments claiming that Kohli himself has stepped down as captain and not been removed,” Butt explained on his YouTube channel during a Q&A session.

“Listen, brother… they (the board) made the build. Didn’t he say in the press conference that there was no communication with me? You can look at the PC if you haven’t,” the former southpaw added.

“It comes down to these things when the player knows it was done on purpose. The professional that he is and the captain that he was, I still don’t think he should have been removed,” said Butt, who was kicked out in 2011 by the ICC was suspended for 10 years for match-fixing in England.

Following Kohli’s decision, the BCCI named Rohit Sharma as India’s captain in all three formats. Under Rohit, India is yet to win a major ICC trophy – India lost to England in T20 World Cup 2022 and suffered defeat to Australia in WTC final 2023.

Rohit’s next big assignment is the 2023 Asia Cup which starts in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 31 and the ODI World Cup 2023 at home in October-November.