Can Virat Kohli keep ODI captaincy for long? The existential question looms!

Bengaluru, September 17: Virat Kohli constructed his career as a professional cricketer hurdling over obstacles. He braved a deep personal loss as a youngster to play a crucial Ranji Trophy match for Delhi, gave new dimensions to chasing targets in ODIs and T20Is and worked overtime to make India an overseas force in Test cricket, primarily through building a pace battery.

But on Thursday (September 16), Kohli imposed a challenge on himself while announcing his decision to quit India T20I captaincy post the ICC T20 World Cup in October. It is not merely winning the T20 World Cup and add that elusive silverware to his otherwise impeccable CV.

The challenge is more existential in nature for Captain Kohli. Will he be able to keep India's ODI captaincy if India fails to land the title in the UAE? It is a big question and the BCCI top brass might already be thinking on those lines.

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Kohli has a brilliant track record as captain in bilateral cricket, and in fact it is better than any other previous Indian captain including MS Dhoni, the most successful of them all with three ICC titles under his belt.

But when it comes to the global events, Kohli does not shine through as India's campaigns under him in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, 50-over World Cup 2019 and WTC Final 2021 ended dry. The final and semifinal appearances in those tournaments are creditworthy in isolation but lack of titles stick out as a sore thumb particularly after a successful era under Dhoni.

Pencil in his barren run in the IPL as the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, if you wish!

By relinquishing the T20I captaincy, Kohli has underlined his desire to keep the ODI and Test leadership role with him. It is perfectly understandable as the 50-over World Cup is coming to India in 2023 and Kohli might be dreaming of a tilt at the title at home. It is an undeniably hard to resist temptation, not just for Kohli but for any captain.

ALSO READ: BCCI REACTS TO KOHLI'S DECISION

But will the BCCI bigwigs be keen to continue with Kohli if he once again falters as captain in an ICC event? Or will they be eager to hand over Kohli's successor the reins of ODI team too and give him time to build his team and put in place the plans ahead of the mega event?

Kohli will have to script his own future here. Kohli has never been an intuitive captain in the white ball formats where you need to adapt the thinking process as the game unfolds in quick reels. In those formats, especially in T20, a captain needs to find that sort of personnel who can execute his plans and Kohli has not unlocked the combo till now.

Kohli is more at ease in Test cricket where he can shape his thoughts and strategies over five days, and even succeed with pre-meditated plans and can have the comfort of seeking inputs from the backroom staff as and when he requires. It is, perhaps, one reason why Kohli has been insistent on a set of coaching staff with whom he has greater synergy.

However, new coaches might walk in after the T20 World Cup while Kohli's feedback will be sought in the process it is hard to imagine that he will have an absolute say in it as it was in the past. The BCCI will certainly draft in the opinion of the new T20I captain too.

It was evident in Kohli's announcement too when he worded in Rohit Sharma as a part of the leadership group. It is somewhat of an admission from Kohli's part that Rohit will takeover the mantle from him in the not-so-distant future, and he is mentally preparing for the shift.

Rohit has all the credentials too. He has led India occasionally in the absence of Kohli and fetched two multi-team competition titles in 2018 - the Asia Cup and the Nidahas Trophy. The Mumbaikar also led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles and one Champions Trophy triumph and he has evolved as an all-format, all-weather batsman in recent years.

It is too bright a picture to paper over, and Kohli's parched record in multi-team events made it even more exigent. A stumble by Kohli in the T20 World Cup might just hasten that swing in power and set in that split captaincy in its true sense.