Virat Kohli, who was demoted from the captain of the ODI side with a mere sentence in a press release announcing the Test squad for the tour of South Africa, has sought a break during the ODI leg of the tour, TOI reported.
However, the same report also suggested that the former skipper had informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his decision to take rest during the ODI series against South Africa.
Notably, the press release that broke the news of Kohli’s demotion from captaincy was for the announcement of the Test squad and the selection of the ODI squad was delayed citing the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
If Kohli pulls out of the ODI series and with Rohit already ruled out of the Test series due to hamstring injury, the inevitability of them playing under each other will get delayed further. Kohli will lead the Test side without Rohit while the new skipper is likely to return for the ODI leg of the tour but will lead the side without Kohli, their best performer with the bat in the 50 over-format.
It’s more than likely that these are just a series of coincidences but it could well fuel the fire of speculations about the personal relationship between the two players and Kohli’s reactions to the BCCI’s handling of his captaincy and public statements by president Sourav Ganguly.