T20 captaincy: 'A big communication gap between Kohli, BCCI'

FORMER India cricketer and national selector Sandeep Patil has a critical take on the succession of national captaincy in the T20 format as he feels there has been a communication gap between departing skipper Virat Kohli and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over his decision to step down as the captain in the shortest format after the upcoming World Cup.

Kohli recently revealed his decision to quit captaincy in the 20-over format citing workload management. Vice captain Rohit Sharma, who has been the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League, is likely to take up the job. Sharma is the third-most successful captain for India in the T20s with 15 wins out of 19 games. Only Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41 wins out of 72 games) and Kohli (27 wins out of 45) are ahead of him.

ALSO READ: Former India players back Rohit Sharma as T20 captain

Sandeep Patil (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

While there is still no clarity on who would take up the baton from the ace batsman, Patil, who was a member of the Indian team that won the 1983 World Cup, told the Times of India, “It seems that there’s a big communication gap between BCCI and Virat. You can’t have Virat say one thing and the BCCI another. This is purely Virat’s decision, and the BCCI should just accept it.”

Kohli to give up T20 captaincy after World Cup 

The 65-year-old former batsman, who has always been a national coach, backed Sharma like many other former India players as the best man to do the job once Kohli steps down.

“Virat has been a true asset for Indian Cricket and has led with aplomb. He is one of the most successful captains in all the formats. The decision has been made keeping in mind the future roadmap,” he said.

“We thank Virat for his tremendous performance as the T20I Captain. We wish him all the best for the upcoming World Cup and beyond and hope that he continues to score plenty of runs for India,” Patil added.

The upcoming World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman will be the only time that Kohli will lead India at the mega event. The Men in Blue will kick off their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on October 24. Kohli is yet to win an ICC trophy which Sharma, who has played the most number of matches in the shortest format for India (111), has.