Virat under siege: After T20I, will he exit as ODI skipper?

Mohammed Rumman Khan | NT 

Only three 50-over games remain in the current home season, but the BCCI has its sights set firmly on the 2023 World Cup. Skipper Virat Kohli’s ODI captaincy is likely on thin ice as Rohit Sharma’s prospects grow brighter. The matter is on the agenda as BCCI leadership and national selectors meet over the next couple of days. 

One may argue that different captains in T20 and ODI will not have a smooth flow of ideas and direction. If the BCCI is thinking about the 2023 ODI World Cup, which is being played entirely in India with the home team touted as favourites, the captain will play an essential role. It is the board’s responsibility to stay farsighted in order to have transparency in ideas for, of course, best results.

While selectors are in no hurry to announce a new ODI captain,  it is certain that they wouldn’t want a separate white-ball captain for just three games with 17 T20 games in India till June. Ex-cricketers believe that India should have the same ODI & T20 captain &   in the current scheme of things, it is Rohit Sharma who is the best choice.

However, before that India have an ODI series in South Africa and it remains to be seen whether Kohli would voluntarily step down from the 50-over captaincy or wait for the BCCI to give him the nudge. 
Either way, his leadership in white-ball days is numbered.