'I'm angry as a die-hard Indian cricket fan by the process'- Deep Dasgupta on Virat Kohli stepping down as T20I captain
Former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Deep Dasgupta has expressed his disappointment with the process that ultimately paved the way for Virat Kohli to relinquish his leadership duties in the T20I format.
Reacting to the development, Dasgupta took to his official Twitter account to post a short clip where he said that while he is relieved that all the rumors and speculations have come to a rest, he is extremely angry with the process.
Dasgupta said-
"I'm relieved to a certain extent because there was lots going around in the media, rumours, speculations. Having said that, I'm angry as a die-hard Indian cricket fan by the process,"
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Skipper Kohli on Thursday evening brought an end to the endless speculation in the media regarding him giving up the white-ball leadership role as he announced that the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE will be his last stint as T2OI skipper.
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Kohli cited the immense workload that comes with leading the side in all three formats besides being the leading batsman as the reason behind him giving up the captaincy from the shortest format of the game. The legendary cricketer will continue to lead the team in ODIs and Test matches.
Reports of Virat Kohli giving up white-ball captaincy have been floating in the media in the past week
There have been a lot of rumors in the media in the past 8-10 days regarding Kohli giving up the white-ball captaincy in a bid to focus on his batting and leading the team in Test cricket.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India was comprehensive in rubbishing the reports. Treasurer Arun Dhumal and secretary Jay Shah reckoned that there had been no discussions regarding split-captaincy, as claimed by media reports, and that Kohli would continue to lead the side across formats.
Thanks @imVKohli for your contribution as the #TeamIndia captain. As a young talent the focus and determination you have showed as the captain is unmatched. The most impressive aspect was the way of maintaining balance between captaincy and individual performance.
However, as it turns out, Kohli has now relinquished the duties in the shortest format and the T20 World Cup will be his swansong from T20Is as Indian skipper.
Kohli’s record as T20I skipper speaks for itself. The 32-year-old led the national team in 45 games, winning 27 and losing just 14. His stint saw the Indian team win bilateral rubbers in Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in addition to countless victories on home soil.
India are currently on a winning streak in the format, having not lost a bilateral rubber since losing 0-2 to Australia in February 2019.