The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has spoken to the media regarding the ongoing Virat Kohli controversy. Ganguly has now stated that there will be no more press conferences or statement on the current series of events. The ongoing tussle between Kohli and BCCI has sparked debate as the 33-year-old was sacked from the captaincy of the ODI side.
BCCI president Ganguly in the meantime has spoken to the press in his native Kolkata stating, “BCCI will deal with the matter appropriately. There will be no press conference or statement."
Ganguly’s statement comes just 24 hours after the Kohli had reacted in a virtual press conference stating the reason for his sack. Kohli had indirectly pointed fingers at the board and Ganguly for sacking him from captaincy. However, the BCCI now wants to douse the flames by stating there will be no more public comments.
Both BCCI and Ganguly are now trying their level best to close the issue on public front and end the brawl behind the doors. Ganguly while speaking to media has now taken a pragmatic approach on the eve of South Africa tour. The Ganguly-Kohli issue has become a hot topic in the cricketing fraternity with former players also getting involved.
Former India captain Kapil Dev also had his say by asking Kohli to not react on the issue and focus on cricket.
“It is not good to point fingers on anybody at this point in time. The South Africa tour is coming and please pay attention to the tour. I would say Board president is Board president but yes the Indian cricket team captain is also a big thing. But talking badly about each other in public, I don’t think it is a good thing, whether it is Sourav or Kohli,” the 1983 World Cup-winner said.
Now that the BCCI and its hierarchy are involved in closing the matter it remains to be seen how Kohli reacts while doing press conference in South Africa. Rohit Sharma has been named as the captain of the ODI side while Kohli continues to lead in the longer format. India’s tour of South Africa will start on Boxing Day (December 26) in Centurion in first of the three Test match series.
