Talking about Virat Kohli for the first time since the controversial press conference of the Indian test captain, the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has hinted that Kohli needs to change his attitude a little bit, even though his overall attitude towards the game is admirable.
Ganguly had earlier refused to give any reaction to Kohli’s press conference at all after Kohli had confirmed that the board had no prior communication to him before his removal as ODI captain and none of the board officials ever asked him to keep his position as the T20I captain.
When Ganguly was asked about the issue, he had simply said that the issue would be dealt with at the organisational level and BCCI, as the governing body, would decide what is needed to be done about the matter. Ganguly had made it clear he wouldn’t release any statement on a personal level.
The reason why a personal statement from Ganguly was expected after Kohli’s press conference was that Kohli had contradicted Ganguly’s words publicly. It was Ganguly who had told the press that Kohli was asked by the BCCI to stay on as the T20I captain, but he refused.
Sourav Ganguly has been an admirer of Virat Kohli in the past
Ganguly opened up a little bit in an event in Gurugram yesterday, where he was asked to name one Indian cricketer whose attitude he finds very admirable. Responding to it, Ganguly said, although he finds Kohli’s attitude admirable, he would have to say that Kohli “fights a lot” these days.
It wasn’t hard to guess Ganguly was referring to the recent statements that have been made by Kohli after his sacking as the white ball captain of India. BCCI officials are understood to have taken great offense to the words of Kohli, but there has been no reaction from the board yet, keeping in mind that the Indian team has to play a test series in just about a week.
The board is, however, expected to react sooner or later in some way or the other, but if Kohli has a good time with the bat in South Africa, and he guides the team to a Test series victory, it’s likely that he will be able to retain his position as the test captain of India, despite the recent controversies.
However, Kohli’s own performance in South Africa and the team’s performance as a whole is going to be very important. Poor results on the ground might leave the Indian test captain in a difficult situation.
