"Not being able to win an ICC trophy could have cost Virat Kohli the ODI captaincy" - Saba Karim 

Former Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim has given his opinion on why Virat Kohli has been sacked as the captain of the One-Day Internationals team. Karim has suggested India's inability to win ICC championships in recent years could have influenced the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision.

The cricketer-turned-commentator made these comments on YouTube show Khelneeti. Karim pointed out that Kohli had himself made an announcement regarding his resignation from the post of India's T20I skipper. Karim noted that the 33-year-old however, did not hint at leaving his leadership position in ODI cricket.

Karim feels it meant Kohli wanted to continue as the team's skipper for 50-over matches. He added that even if Kohli did not want to relinquish his position, the selectors and BCCI had the right to take the final call.

Saba Karim said:

"It is right to say that Kohli has been sacked. He made the announcement while leaving the T20I captaincy and could have confirmed that he does not want to continue as ODI captain as well. This meant he wanted to remain ODI captain. Not being able to win an ICC trophy could have cost Virat Kohli the ODI captaincy."

There have been several reports suggesting that Kohli was not consulted by the board regarding the split captaincy strategy. However, Karim believes that head coach Rahul Dravid would surely have had a word with the Delhi batter.

Kohli has led the Indian side for several years. Hence, Karim feels the board would not take such a major call without having a discussion with Kohli. He said:

"I am confident that Rahul Dravid or someone from the BCCI would have had a word with Virat Kohli regarding their plans of introducing split captaincy. Dravid has often put emphasis on having clear communication with players. So, when it comes to taking such a big decision, I believe someone would have surely talked to Kohli."

"There would have been a lot of confusion if there had been different captains for ODI and T20I teams" - Nikhil Chopra

Ex-India cricketer Nikhil Chopra also featured in the video shared on Khelneeti's YouTube channel. Speaking of Rohit Sharma being handed the ODI captaincy, he said it was the right step forward. Chopra felt it was better to give one player the complete reins over white-ball cricket instead of splitting the ODI and T20I captaincies.

"There would have been confusion if there had been different captains in ODIs and T20Is. Kohli still has an opportunity to clinch an ICC trophy and the World Test Championship is going to be crucial for him. Whereas Rohit has two World Cups coming up and he now gets a chance to build a team for the same."

He opined that Kohli can now fully focus on clinching his maiden ICC trophy by winning the ongoing World Test Championship. This shift in leadership will also give Sharma adequate time to build a team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 and the subsequent 50-over World Cup.