Virat Kohli's press conference statements were shocking, things should not have gone this way: Former selector Sarandeep Singh

Former national selector Sarandeep Singh has labelled Virat Kohli’s revelations from his recent press conference as a “bit shocking”. Kohli, ahead of the team’s departure to South Africa for the upcoming series, stated in a virtual presser that he was communicated about the BCCI and national selectors’ decision of replacing him as ODI captain only an hour and a half before the selection meeting of the South Africa Test squad.

He further went on to refute the claims of BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who had only recently stated how the board asked Kohli to not step down as the T20I skipper but he did not agree. Kohli, in his statements, reckoned that not only was he was never asked to not step down, but his decision was received very well and one in the right direction by all the stakeholders.

“Whatever was said about the communication that happened during the decision that was made was inaccurate. I was contacted one and a half hours before the selection meeting on the 8th for the Test series. And there was no prior communication with me at all since I announced the T20 captaincy decision up till the 8th [December].

“The chief selector discussed with me the Test team to which we both agreed, and before ending the call, I was told that the five selectors have decided that I will not be the ODI captain. To which I replied, ‘ok fine’. Later in the selection call afterwards, we chatted about it briefly and that’s what happened. There was no communication prior to that at all,” revealed Kohli.

Things shouldn’t have gone wrong the way they did: Sarandeep Singh

Opening up on the entire episode, former selector Singh said: “It is the duty of the selection committee to select the players and appoint the captain. BCCI does not play any role in the selection process. The statements given by Virat in the press conference today were a bit shocking. Things shouldn’t have gone wrong the way they did,” as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Singh agreed with the intentions behind the decision, as he stood in agreement with not having two captains for two white-ball formats, but added that the handling of the matter should have been better as it can have serious implications on Indian cricket.

“Personally, I feel that there should not be two captains in white-ball cricket. The things could have been handled in a more professional manner and Virat should have been informed earlier. All I want is that everything should be sorted because this can cause harm to Indian cricket,” he added.