After being removed as the ODI skipper of the Indian cricket team, Test captain Virat Kohli will address the media for the first time tomorrow i.e. on December 15 and it is expected that he will be speaking on matters related to his removal as India captain. With rumours buzzing about a rift between him and Rohit Sharma, Kohli is also expected to put an end to the same and clarify his position on playing the ODI leg of the South Africa series.
BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal along with Hyderabad Cricket Association's president Mohammad Azharuddin made things extremely murky in the last couple of days stating that Kohli had asked for leave during the ODI leg of the tour. Since then several unnamed BCCI officials have come forward refuting the same to add to the ongoing confusion.
Time of India journalist K Srinivas Rao tweeted about the development Kohli will be addressing a press briefing on Wednesday and potentially could speak about the ongoing issues to put a stop to the rumour mongering.
It is worth noting that ever since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the removal of the 33-year-old Kohli as skipper of the One-Day side and appointed 34-year-old Rohit as his successor in the 50-over format on December 08, Kohli had not said a word either on his social media or in the press.
Therefore this media briefing becomes extremely important given that the reason for his removal as given by BCCI head Sourav Ganguly was that the board wanted uniformity in red and white ball leadership. Ganguly had also said that the board never wanted Kohli to quit T20I captaincy but since he did that, the board had no other choice but to make Rohit the full white-ball captain and appointed him as blithe T20I and ODI captain.
Virat Kohli had announced before the start of the second leg of the Indian Premier League in the UAE that the T20 World Cup 2021, which was held in UAE and Oman would be his last as captain of the Indian team in the shortest format. He had also announced the IPL 2021 to be his last IPL as leader of the RCB franchise.